Teen Titans - Season Six
by The Hamartia of it All
Summary: What I think would have happened if the series continued into a sixth season. Main story arc is Starfire's, but various Titans couples and semi-original plots. Main Characters: Robin, Beast Boy, Cyborg, Raven, Starfire. Please read Author's Note (ch. 1) for more information. Episode 8 is now up! Thanks for your patience!
1. Author's Note

_Author's Note:_

_My Imagination Takes the Form of Digital Text_

_Hello fellow Teen Titans fans! My name is Maribel Arroyo Villanueva, but friends call me Mari. If you've opened this then I thank you, because you probably liked my first one-shot and decided to give this fanfic rookie a chance :)_

_Anyway, I'm going to start a Teen Titans fanfiction based on the TV series Teen Titans and pick up where it left off after it was unceremoniously and unfortunately ended using my opinions of what should have happened so if you disagree with anything, no flames please! We are all different and I understand that there are many different ships and ideas about the characters, so please be cognizant of the fact that this is one girl's opinion._

_Okay, so we all know by now that the original Teen Titans was meant to have a season six, only it got cancelled and then rebooted into the new Teen Titans Go. While it's an adorable and funny-in-its-own-way show, let's face it, it's nothing like the original and season five ended with so many unanswered questions. Also, anyone else notice that of all the Titans (including Terra) except Starfire had a season arc dedicated to them? Starfire only had a few episodes dedicated to her each season and it's a shame because her background in the comics is quite interesting and seldom explored in the show. So I figured, hey, why not come up with some answers to the questions that the show left off while writing my own season six dedicated to Starfire?_

_So basically, in the mainstream comics, Tamaran goes through a ton of shit with other alien planets and eventually gets destroyed and I've always wondered how the tv Teen Titans, mainly Starfire, would have dealt with it and all the politics and issues that it came with. That's what this season is going to centre on, but in order to be fair to the other equally-as-awesome Titans, I will write episodes dedicated to each of them at a time. Terra's story will be eventually explored as well, and in the style of the original TV series some episodes will be dark and serious while others will be light and humorous (just imagine the English and Japanese theme songs in your head)._

_This is going to be all about what I think should have happened, but if it is successful then I will take into consideration any suggestions, should I receive any. Pairings will be canon (yes, I'm a Robstar, BBRae, Cy/Sarah, Flinx etc. shipper). Post-Tokyo, same universe as Teen Titans and Teen Titans Go! (comics)._

_Currently, it's final exams week for semester two and since my school has this weird exam schedule, I have a lot of free days between my exams. Don't expect a new episode every day, or even every week though (sorry!). I will try my hardest to update as often as possible, but I should warn you that I'm very busy volunteering and working this summer._

_Like I said, season five and Trouble in Tokyo ended the series with a lot of unanswered questions, especially regarding Terra. Let me know in the reviews about the questions you had after the show ended (and feel free to vent out your feels, I will fangirl with you!), and I will consider them into my story arc, reread the DC comics and Teen Titans Go!, and if all else fails I'll use my imagination and logic to answer them._

_Disclaimer: This fanfiction gets info from the Teen Titans Go! comics, so as not to contradict with the mainstream DC comics. I own nothing! If I had a dollar for every time I wished I owned Teen Titans, I would own Teen Titans by now and this fanfiction would air on TV. Alas, life is not perfect, and I don't own Teen Titans or any of their characters. I do, however, own some of the unfamiliar villains that you may come across as the season progresses. Well enjoy what I think should have been season six!_

_Maribel ∞_


	2. Episode 1 - Familiar Faces

_A/N: Okay, so here goes! I own nothing, as usual_

_Summary: After the events of Tokyo and Issue #55 of Teen Titans Go!, things seem to be going well for the Teen Titans. On a peaceful, crime-free day for the Jump City Teen Titans, Starfire receives a distress call from Tamaran and is called back to aid her people, but Robin is reluctant to let her go. Kid Flash and Jinx fill in for the Titans, and an old enemy or two returns._

* * *

_Season 6, Episode 1: Familiar Faces_

In an American city on the west coast, the sun rose from below the ocean and shone its array of reds and yellows onto a small island with a big T rising out of it. Titans Tower, as it was called, was the home of Jump City's own group of teenaged superheroes and the founding members of a worldwide team called the Teen Titans. These five heroes consisted of — to use the descriptions given by an old enemy of theirs — a Teen Wonder, a Mistress of Magic, a Shapeshifter Supreme, a Half Man/Half Robot, and an Alien Powerhouse. Together, they'd defeated countless villains and protected not only the city, but the entire world from the clutches of evil, and kept the relative peace.

The Alien Powerhouse, or Starfire, as she preferred, lay still on her pink circular bed inside her pink bedroom, snuggling with her pet larva-worm Silkie. Yet if one looked closely, there was something off about the alien, as she usually slumbered with a smile on her face.

_"Koriand'r! Come, my little bumgorf, it is time for dinner!" a thunderous yet gentle voice called out to her. Standing tall as a mountain by the palace gates, the royal __k'norfka Galfore smiled as his bumgorf sailed through the air happily. 'Oh, to be young again,' he thought to himself, grazing the scar over his eye wistfully._

_Little Koriand'r vaguely heard her guardian as she twirled and dove through the air, giggling as multicoloured winged creatures flew with her. "Five minutes more please!"_

_Flying was a skill that Tamaraneans mastered before their first words, and was one of Koriand'r's favourite pastimes, especially with the beautiful creatures that inhabited the lush palace gardens. Sometimes she and her little brother Ryand'r would chase each other in the air until their parents called them for their royal duties, but most days it was just her and the sky._

_Unexpectedly, the flying creatures became frantic and panicky, flapping furiously around her. With a startled scream, Koriand'r felt herself plummeting to the ground and awaited the impact of the hard earth, only to find herself safely in the arms of her k'norfka. Shouts and screeches filled the air, and when she looked up at the sky she was shocked to find it was hidden by a strange alien armada and the panicked flying creatures._

_"GORDANIANS!" a guard yelled. "SOUND THE ALARM!"_

_"Quickly, princess, let us get inside where it is safe," Galfore cried, clutching her to his chest protectively. Tears began to fall down her cheeks as her guardian ran through the garden, narrowly dodging lasers and explosive arrows. Around them, the beautiful garden she played in only moments before was engulfed in flames, and Tamaranean warriors and Gordanians invaders engaged in violent battle._

_"Hurry princess!" a guard shouted, preparing to engage the safety barricade on the palace door. Behind him, her parents and siblings watched them anxiously, Ryand'r in the arms of their mother._

_There was an explosion behind her and Galfore, propelling them forwards and scorching her with heat. The last thing the young princess remembered seeing was her beloved family burning in flames._

_"Koriand'r!"_

The shrill beeping of her ironic Mumbo alarm clock awoke the alien princess from her slumber. She bolted upright, her sweaty limbs entangled in the pink bed sheets. Silkie groaned and crawled onto her chest, sensing her distress. She smiled, and hugged her pet as she tried to collect her thoughts. Pink rays of sunrise were peeking through the gaps in her curtains, informing her that it was now early morning.

'It was merely a nightmare,' she thought to herself as she stroked Silkie. 'Mother and father and Wildfire and Blackfire did not burn. But Tamaran did.'

For whatever reason, lately she had been feeling the "sickness of home." As much as she loved Earth and her friends, there were moments where she still felt like an outsider, like the alien she was. Whenever she discussed Tamaranean traditions and customs, or mentioned a foreign word, or misunderstood an Earth idiom, she would wonder what her family on her home planet would say at such things. Surely, she would feel normal and more at home there.

Tamaran, her home planet, a race of powerful warriors and emotional people who valued family and friendship above all else. Tamaran, a target of many who felt superior to the "Troqs," who found their emotion-driven culture strange and insignificant, yet sought to exploit their abilities and abundant natural resources. It was something she had grown up around, something her parents had been determined to resolve.

'But it was all for naught.' Sadness threatened to overcome her, and her alarm clock was still beeping. Brushing those thoughts aside, Starfire whacked the blaring alarm, put Silkie down, and leapt out of bed. She flew to the window and opened the curtains, relishing the feel of the warm sunlight on her golden skin.

'What a glorious day!' she thought, and began to prepare for breakfast. Mustn't look like a total mess as she greeted her friends and boyfriend for the most important meal of the day.

As the sun continued to rise in the sky, the sleepy Titans slowly made their way out of bed and to the Ops room for breakfast. First Robin, the Teen Wonder, lazily striding into the kitchen and preparing a cup of coffee. Then Cyborg, the Half Man/Half robot, and Beast Boy, the Shapeshifter Supreme, eagerly racing towards the kitchen cabinets in hopes of being the one to prepare the Titans breakfast. Beast Boy morphed into a rabbit and beat Cyborg to the kitchen, where he hopped onto the cabinet and morphed back into his human form as he reached for the necessary kitchen supplies and ingredients. An argument ensued about Beast Boy's cooking skills, or, more importantly, his dietary choices. Then Starfire, the Alien Powerhouse, floated into the kitchen, planted a soft kiss on Robin's cheek, and settled onto a stool as she excitedly watched her two friends preparing two different breakfasts. She was followed by the Titans' pet larva-worm, Silkie, who inched his way into the kitchen and onto the countertop, where Cyborg pet him and placed his breakfast — maggot-like alien insects and oatmeal, one of his favourites — in front of him. Finally, Raven, the Mistress of Magic, grumpily levitated into the vacant seat beside Starfire and opened her book, mumbling the word "idiots" as she ignored the two bickering boys.

"It looks like it's going to be a beautiful day!" said Robin as he took the other stool beside his girlfriend. "Just look at that sunrise!"

"Indeed!" chirped Starfire, her green eyes sparkling with excitement. Robin put his arm around her shoulders and smiled at her. "Dear friends, what plans do you have this glorious day?"

As he placed bacon and eggs on four sets of plates, he happily replied, "Sarah's got a day off from work today, so I'm taking her to the drive-in theatre where her parents went on their first date."

Raven smirked. "Nice. Who knew you were so romantic?"

"I know right? Sometimes I'm so romantic I think I should just date myself," he joked, winking at the empath. _[A/N: Hahaha I just paraphrased a line from Monsters Inc., anyone else excited for Monsters University?]_

"Splendid!" Starfire cried, giggling at the two. "Tell our friend Sarah that I say hello, and I hope to do the hanging out with her soon! Friends Raven and Beast Boy, what plans do you have today?"

Beast Boy slid his tofu eggs and bacon onto a plate, then offered some to the girls. Starfire happily accepted some, while Raven crinkled her nose in disgust. "Suit yourself," he said to the empath, taking a bite of his tofu bacon. "I'm probably gonna play Mega Monkeys 5 with Mas and Menos, then a lot of nothing!"

"Wow," Raven grumbled. "So productive." She turned to Starfire, and replied, "I still have a lot of books to finish. Wonder Girl lent me some books from the Paradise Island library and I have to return them soon."

"Reading?" Beast Boy cried with a mouth full of tofu eggs, sending bits flying. Raven put up a shield in front of her face. "And you said _I_ wasn't been productive."

Raven glared menacingly. "These books are from Paradise Island and are ancient. They're full of ancient Greek curses and spells, so unless you want to end up with a donkey head, you keep your mouth shut." The shapeshifter paled and clutched his face.

Robin chuckled. "Starfire and I are going to do the daily rounds before we head out."

Starfire clapped her hands with delight. "Yes! There is this fascinating new exhibit at the museum, displaying newly discovered artefacts from —"

"You know, Star, that every time someone says the word 'museum,' I just tune everything out right?" said Beast Boy.

"Don't you do that with every other word that's not in your vocabulary?" Raven retorted.

"Huh?"

Cyborg, Starfire, and Robin burst into laughter, until a blaring alarm interrupted their breakfast.

"Trouble?" Starfire asked, disappointed at the thought of having to abandon their plans to catch the latest criminal.

Robin shook his head. "No, we're getting a call. And from the looks of it, intergalactic." He walked over to the ops room and pressed a button. "Titans Tower, Robin here."

A face appeared on the screen, causing Starfire to gasp. It was a face from her past, one she had not seen in person in a long time.

"Galfore!" She flew up to the communicator excitedly. Oh, how she missed her dear k'norfka! His large, seemingly menacing face took up most of the screen, but his eyes and expression reflected genuine fatherly love for her. [_A/N: Let's pretend that they're speaking in Tamaranean for this part]_

"My little bumgorf! It has been a while since we last spoke," he remarked, his tone light and playful.

Starfire smiled. "Yes, it has. I apologize, k'norfka, it has been an... eventful few months." Comforting Robin, sending Killowat home, meeting Ravager, defeating Private H.I.V.E.'s Army Brats, meeting Geo-Force, defending Paradise Island, establishing Titans North and the worldwide New Teen Titans Training program, defeating the new H.I.V.E. five, and spending time with Robin had all caused her to neglect communicating with her beloved k'norfka. The last time they had spoken was after the incident with Madame Rouge and Blackfire. _[A/N: See issue # 46 - Wildfire] _Then again, he must have been busy too. Being the new Grand Ruler of Tamaran — and without any royal blood in him — must be stressful, especially since Tamaran was still rebuilding and recovering from the Gordanian war and Blackfire's tyranny.

"No need to apologize, dear princess. I understand that being a hero has its disadvantages just as much as it has its advantages. I wish we could do the 'catching up,' as you have put it, but I have some news for you."

"What is it, Galfore?"

"Uh, Star, I know it's been a while since you guys talked and this is probably none of our business, but we can't understand a thing you're saying and I have to play Mega Monkeys 5 with Mas and Menos soon so we need to make this quick!" Beast Boy insisted.

"YOUR GAMES WILL HAVE TO WAIT, SMALL ONE!" Galfore boomed angrily, glaring down at the shapeshifter. Frightened, he morphed into a kitten and hid behind Raven.

Robin cleared his throat. "Good to see you again, Galfore."

"'Sup, your majesty?" Cyborg greeted.

"Hi," Raven said dryly, but not rudely. Behind her, Beast Boy meowed.

The alien emperor pounded his fist to his chest. "X'hal, Teen Titans. While it pleases me to see that you have taken care of my bumgorf and kept her in good spirits, my call is not merely to do the catching up with the princess. I am afraid I require your assistance, young ones."

"Whatever is the matter, k'norfka?" Starfire inquired, worry filling her voice.

The old alien sighed sadly. "As I have feared in the past, our war with the Citadel has recommenced. After you escaped from their clutches all those years ago, we thought we had seen the last of them. But they were merely gathering reinforcements, and now they have sent the Psions to our already restless planet. They are planning something, but what, I do not know."

* * *

_[Cue English version of Teen Titans theme. Sorry, I had to!]_

* * *

The Titans gasped. Only weeks ago did Starfire reveal more of her past to them, and how she was subjected to the Psions' torturous and horrific science experiments and abuse. The Psions were a race of reptile-like aliens who lacked compassion and remorse, and viewed all other species as insignificant and inferior. They were not only sadistic scientists, but barbaric warriors, and they did everything that the Citadel commanded them to, resulting in the genocide of many alien races.

"Our people fought valiantly, but I fear too many lives were lost. Tamaran is growing restless and suspicious of me. They insist that only those of royal blood should wear the crown, and demand that you return as Empress in order to negotiate with the Citadel."

Starfire's eyes widened in fear, and she sunk to the floor. Robin caught her before her knees touched the ground and he held her up. "I cannot return as Grand Ruler, Galfore. Earth is my home now, and I must protect it. I am aware that the fault is mine for infuriating the Citadel, but I am not right for Tamaran. Besides, I have already abdicated. The right to rule is no longer mine."

"Blood is more viscous than water," Galfore replied. "I am sorry, my little bumgorf, but you must return home and help your people." Starfire burst into tears at the thought of leaving her friends, and buried her face in Robin's shoulder.

"Galfore — your majesty… sir, but there has to be another way to save Tamaran," he said, keeping his voice steady and firm to conceal his inner turmoil. There was no way he was losing her, not while he was still alive and breathing.

"Yeah, I mean, Star's not the only member of the royal family!" Beast Boy cried, now in human form.

The Titans turned to stare at their friend in surprise, jaws unhinged. Had he just given them an idea? Raven, Cyborg, Starfire, and Robin exchanged glances, while Beast Boy remained confused.

"What?"

Robin turned his attention back to the screen. "Galfore, when the king and queen were still alive and Blackfire and Starfire were very young, they sent away the heir to the throne."

"That is correct, Robin. Wildfire was next in line for the throne," Galfore answered, not seeing his point.

"Where did they send Wildfire when the war first broke out?"

"I am afraid that information far too classified for intergalactic telecommunication. And I cannot send a messenger to him, since the Psions are watching our every move. You must come here, and I shall tell you everything you wish to know. X'hal, Teen Titans."

"X'hal, k'norfka," Starfire trembled. The communication ceased and the screen faded to black. "Friends, what am I to do? I do not wish to leave you —"

"You won't have to, Star, I'll make sure of it," Robin said. He put on a brave face and presented his determined hero side. "Titans, take a rain check on those plans. We're going to Tamaran."

* * *

At the T-Ship rocket launch shaft, the Teen Titans and their friends prepared for the trip ahead. Robin called in Kid Flash and Jinx to watch over Jump City, and Sarah Simms came to watch the launch.

"I can't believe you have to go," Sarah said to her boyfriend, holding his face in her hands.

Cyborg sighed. "I know. I wish we didn't have to, but I need to be there for my friend. Her planet is in trouble, and we have to protect her. I'm really going to miss you. And I'm sorry that we had to postpone our date."

"It's all right. I knew what I was getting into when I started dating a Teen Titan. When will you be back?"

"Could be a few days, a week maximum. Starfire doesn't intend on staying long, just long enough to get the information she wants."

Sarah grinned. "Then I better give you your present now." Before Cyborg could reply, Sarah closed the space between them and kissed him gently. Beneath his metal chest, Cyborg's heart beat rapidly and he happily kissed her back.

The Titans looked on and smirked. Kid Flash put an arm around Jinx and shook hands with Robin. "Don't worry, Traffic Light. Your city's in good hands."

"So what's the deal with you having to go back to Tamaran?" Jinx asked Starfire, whom she had grown close to since becoming an Honorary Titan.

"My people wish to have someone of royal blood on the throne, and since Blackfire has been exiled and imprisoned, the only remaining members of the royal family are me and Wildfire. Wildfire is the true heir to the throne, and we must find him. He will know what to do about the impending war." Starfire sighed. "Oh, friend Jinx, I shall miss you. Please take care of Silkie while we're gone, his meals are located in —"

"Don't worry about it, Star. Green Bean already told us. And if anyone tries to pull anything while you're gone —"

"They'll be in jail before you can say 'Kid Flash loves Slow Poke,'" KF interrupted, placing a sweet kiss on the sorceress' forehead. "Take good care of Starfire, Birdie Boy."

Robin glared and took hold of Starfire's hand. "Just don't get into any trouble. Here's a list of villains you have to watch out for." He handed them a stack of legal-sized paper, listing names of notorious criminals on the front and back. "If you need anything, you know how to reach us."

Kid Flash smirked. "Quit worrying, Traffic Light. It's you who needs to stay out of trouble, you're the one going to an alien planet. You don't want a rerun of Tokyo while you're there. Minus kissing Starfire." He winked at the alien princess, who giggled. Jinx snapped her fingers and a hex-bolt whacked her boyfriend in the gut. "Uh, Cy, how long til you launch? Cy? Sparky? Metal Butt?"

Cyborg reluctantly let go of his girlfriend and turned to face the fastest boy alive. "A few more minutes." Then he pulled Sarah into a loving embrace.

Raven looked around at all the couples and sighed. As much as she wanted to deny it, she wished she had someone who cared about her in a romantic way. Her experience with Malchior, whom had preyed on this longing, had left her scarred and cynical, which she feared scared away any potential romantic interests. She turned to Beast Boy hesitantly. "Hey, uh, Beast Boy?"

The shapeshifter turned to face the empath quizzically. It wasn't every day she talked to him like that. "Uh… something wrong? What did I do?"

"Nothing, I just wanted to ask you something, but if you're scared of me…"

"I'm not scared! It's okay, Rae, I'm your friend, you can tell me anything. I was just surprised, is all."

Raven sighed, and nervously rubbed her neck. "Do you ever… do you…" She closed her eyes. 'Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos.' "Do you ever miss Terra?"

Beast Boy's eyes widened, and he blushed. "Sometimes, but I'm getting over it. She's happy now, even if it has to be without me — er, us, her friends."

"But do you ever miss her… in a different way? Romantically, maybe?"

"Uh, no. I might've in the beginning, but now that she's a different girl, I don't really have feelings for her anymore. Why?"

Should she tell him? "Nothing. I've just been feeling all these things."

"Oh, well no big deal. These happy couples must be giving you a headache."

'He thought I was talking about my powers…' "Right." The two looked at each other sheepishly and smiled, not breaking their eye contact.

"Titans, to your pods. We launch in two minutes," Robin commanded, already in his pod. This interruption caused the two to blush, and they hastily boarded the T-Ship.

Cyborg slowly let go of Sarah. "See you soon, babe." He pressed a small kiss to her temple. Without looking back, he climbed into his pod and commenced the countdown.

"Launching in t-minus ten, nine, eight…"

* * *

On a cliff top overlooking Titans Tower, a masked man watched the Teen Titans through a pair of high-tech binoculars. He had seen everything that had taken place at the launch pad, and mentally took notes of his enemies. All had a common weakness, but he was only targeting one Titan.

He had seen Kid Flash run in with Jinx in his arms and the way he smiled at her. He had watched Cyborg say his farewells to the civilian girl and how they had kissed. He had observed the way Robin comforted Starfire and reassured her that everything would be all right. And he had noticed the longing from Beast Boy and Raven as they watched their friends.

"Oh Robin, you've gotten sloppy since our last encounter," he said to himself, chuckling. "Expanding your team, training adolescents, letting your guard down… This is much too easy. Unfortunately for you, my former apprentice, I won't be making things easier for you."

* * *

After bringing Sarah home, Kid Flash and Jinx settled in the ops room and looked around, admiring their surroundings. Their Titans Tower was nowhere near as nice as this one.

"The first time I was in here was when I was part of the H.I.V.E Five and we kicked their butts," Jinx remarked mischievously. "Out of all the Titans Towers I've seen, theirs is the best. And I'm not just saying that because of the tech. Just look at that view."

Kid Flash grinned as he munched on a tofu-dog he had reheated with his powers. "No kidding. They sure picked a prime location for real estate. Too bad Cy and Star emptied out all the best eats in their fridge."

Jinx rolled her eyes and walked to the main supercomputer. "All security systems are up and the crime scanner is running. Cyborg's covered everything, and until someone robs a bank, we have the entire tower to ourselves." She strode over to her boyfriend and put her arms around his shoulders as she played with his hair. "What do you want to do?"

Before he could answer, the crime scanner detected trouble and the alarm went off, red lights flashing everywhere. The couple groaned. Kid Flash zipped to the main computer.

"There's a bunch of robots robbing Wayne Enterprises. They're probably after their experimental weapons. Piece of cake," Kid Flash remarked, cracking his knuckles. "Ready to go, Slow Poke?"

"Hold on a sec." Jinx pressed a few keys, opening the Wayne Enterprises security footage and observing the robots. "They look familiar." She froze the frame and zoomed in. "What's that symbol?" She pointed to an insignia on a robot's chest, resembling an S.

Kid Flash paled. "Oh, crap. Robin's gonna freak."

* * *

Light years away, the T-Ship safely landed on the Tamaranean palace grounds. The environment was much different than before, as any remaining vegetation was left withered and burnt. There were many cracks and holes in the palace that were hastily patched up and scorch marks on the walls. Below the palace, civilians went about cautiously, keeping their guard up. Things had changed drastically since their last visit. The once proud and powerful warrior race seemed quieter, more fearful, and suspicious. All eyes were on the visiting heroes from Earth and their Tamaranean princess.

The Teen Titans leapt out of the T-Ship and were greeted by the royal guards and the Grand Ruler himself. But unlike the last time they visited the planet, this was no happy reunion for k'norfka and bumgorf.

"Hail, Princess Starfire!" Galfore exclaimed, and the guards dropped to the ground and genuflected. "I trust your flight was safe and efficient."

Starfire nodded somberly. "Rise, fellow Tamaraneans. I come not as your princess, but as an ally. Your Majesty, may we head inside and exchange information?" Galfore and the guards formed a protective barrier around the Titans as they escorted them into the palace.

"Dude, is Star okay?" Beast Boy asked Robin quietly. The princess hadn't said a word the entire trip, and did not even accept her boyfriend's helping hand to exit her pod.

Raven thwacked the shapeshifter on the back of his head. "You'd be anxious too if you were being pressured to rule an entire dying race while the planet was in turmoil."

"Raven's right, Beast Boy," Robin replied. "We want to make this as easy for her as possible, so don't… do anything stupid." He went to Starfire's side, but having learned his lesson from their last visit, restrained himself from holding her hand. Starfire took notice and held her boyfriend's hand, ignoring Galfore's protesting glare.

The Titans were led into what seemed like a library, where all but two of the guards departed. Looking around cautiously, Galfore reached behind a portrait of the late queen and revealed a Tamaranean insignia. He pressed his hand to it, causing it to glow an eerie green, and a camouflaged door next to a bookcase opened. He beckoned the Titans and the remaining guards inside, before he followed and locked the door.

Inside the secret room, the guards stood by the only door and held up their weapons. Starfire used her starbolts to light the room, until Galfore pulled a cord and switched on the lights. The Titans took in their surroundings. From the floor to the ceiling, bookshelves lined the walls with ancient-looking scrolls, books, and holograms. Between each bookcase were portraits of the royal family, but a sword was stuck in the face of Blackfire's portrait. Galfore floated up to the very top of a case to the right of a toddler Wildfire and picked up a dainty hologram with a Tamaranean symbol. He floated back down to them and placed it on the table in the centre of the room.

"_That's_ what we're here for? A rusty button with squiggly lines?" Beast Boy exclaimed. All Titans and Galfore glared menacingly at the shapeshifter.

"This is a classified royal hologram. It has not been opened since Wildfire's departure. It will show you the surveillance footage of his last day on Tamaran and where his escape pod landed. Only a Tamaranean of royal blood may open it." He nodded to Starfire, who read the inscription. She pressed her dainty fingers on five marks surrounding the hologram, and the symbols glowed green. Shortly, a blue beam shot up and spread into a holographic screen, where she saw footage of her and her baby brother playing with their parents as Blackfire jealously watched from the side.

"Ryand'r…" she whispered sadly, caressing the hologram. Robin squeezed her hand and smiled at her reassuringly. The footage played. There was no sound, so any dialogue was incoherent. The occupants of the room watched as a young Starfire and her toddler brother flew around in what appeared to be a playroom. The queen, who resembled Starfire with black hair, and the king, who was an older version of Wildfire, observed their children wistfully, and murmured something to each other. Blackfire rolled her eyes impatiently, and then the king and queen beckoned for their children to sit on their laps.

Starfire's tears began to flow freely on her face as she recalled her parents' words.

_"My dear Koriand'r and Komand'r, I am afraid I must share some sad news with you," said Queen Luand'r, clutching her son to her heart._

_"Whatever is the matter, mother?" Koriand'r asked, her big innocent eyes blinking up at her mother and father. "Have I been bad?"_

_"Sweet child, you are not at fault," said Myrand'r, her father. He nodded to Galfore, who had entered the room. "As you know, our home is going through some bad times. We fear that the Gordanians may hurt you children, but if we try to protect all of you, they may harm the entire planet. You are young, so you may not understand, but your mother and I have decided that since Ryand'r is next in line for the throne, the Gordanians may target him. So we are sending him away to a safe planet far away, and you and your sister must pretend that nothing is wrong and that he has simply died of illness."_

_Koriand'r did not understand, and she took her brother's hand. "Is baby brother sick? Was he bad? Why is he going away?"_

_Luand'r blinked away tears. "You will understand when you are older, my sweet Kori."_

Starfire and Wildfire exchanged looks of innocent confusion and fear. Then the king and queen put their children down and walked together to another secret room, where a small escape pod awaited with food and toys for the Tamaranean prince. The Titans watched with aching hearts as Wildfire hugged his parents and older sister for the last time, and how Blackfire turned away from her brother's embrace. Galfore held Starfire in his arms as the king and queen placed the blissfully unaware Wildfire into his pod and kissed him good bye. Then the pod closed and launched out of the room, and the king, queen, and youngest princess sobbed. Blackfire grinned deviously.

The hologram then transitioned to a map of the Vega Star System and a neighbouring solar system.

"The Hesperos System?" Starfire inquired, turning to her k'norfka as she wiped away tears. Galfore pressed a spot on the map and it transitioned to a giant gas planet and its hundred moons. "Is my baby brother on one of those moons?"

Galfore nodded. "Yes, your parents sent him to the moon Neoma. Unfortunately, dear princess, we have already tried contacting the Neomians. Wildfire had departed many years ago in search of his family. The boy does not have much of a sense of direction, I fear."

At last, Starfire smiled, albeit a small one. "I remember he was always getting lost in the garden labyrinth. Has anyone seen him since?"

The Grand Ruler floated up to another case and pulled out a paper map and another hologram. He gestured for Starfire to close the royal hologram, and opened both the map and hologram.

"I received reports from the Edana Star System of a young man resembling Wildfire crash landing on the desert planet Nuriel."

"How do they know it's him?" Cyborg questioned.

"They do not. He merely resembles what Wildfire would look like today. The young man has no memory of how he landed on Nuriel or who he is."

"We must go find him then!" Starfire yelled, anxiety filling her voice. Her eyes were ablaze with green light and she began quaking. "That could be my baby brother! We must go find him and bring him back and get him to remember —"

"It's okay, Star," Robin said gently, putting his arms around her. The princess immediately stopped shaking. "We'll find him."

"I wish you good fortune, Teen Titans," Galfore said. "But before you go, the Psions wish to negotiate with you, Princess Starfire. I made them swear by X'hal that they will not harm you or your friends. It is merely a matter of politics."

Starfire looked to her friends, who put on a brave face. They wouldn't let anyone hurt their friend, especially those cruel aliens who had hurt her in the past. "Very well. Take us to the Psions, then, Grand Ruler."

* * *

Back in Jump City, Jinx and Kid Flash were battling an army of Slade robots, and on the brink of victory. Jinx protected Kid Flash by destroying any robots coming his way as he tried to repossess the ultraviolet destabilizer ray.

"Is it just me, or are they getting tired?" Kid Flash quipped, dodging their laser guns and cartwheeling over fallen robots.

"Don't get cocky yet, Winghead! Just get the ray, I'll handle the bots!" She sent a hex-bolt flying at three robots, who would have attacked her boyfriend.

Kid Flash nodded, and took in his surroundings. Then he concocted a plan. Taking a protein bar out of his pocket, he munched on it as he whirled around the robots with the ray and created a tornado.

"Run, run, run as fast as you can!" he sang as the robots helplessly swirled in the funnel. They had finally let go of the ray, which was now hovering to the top of the vortex. "Jinx! Get ready!"

The sorceress nodded, and sent a hex-bolt at the robots coming her way. "Ready when you are!"

Slowing down, he yelled, "Get ready!" The fastest boy alive stopped running and let the robots drop to the floor with a loud thud. The ultraviolet destabilizer ray began to fall, and was about to land in the clutches of the Slade robot that had landed on top of the others. "Now, Jinx!" Jinx threw a hex-bolt at the robot while Kid Flash caught the ray and restored it to its safe holding place.

"Looks like you bots are out of luck," Kid Flash joked, kissing his girlfriend on the cheek as the Wayne Enterprises guards came in and cleared the robots away.

Jinx sighed. "That was almost… too easy…"

"Who cares? We won."

"Yeah, but something doesn't feel right, babe." From the moment they stepped onto the scene, her hex senses went crazy. "I mean, what do they need an ultraviolet destabilizer ray for? The only people who anyone could use that thing on are Blackfire and Starfire. But Blackfire's in a level six holding cell at the prison, and Starfire's on Tamaran. Why are Slade's robots back? And where's Slade?"

Kid Flash chuckled. "You're starting to sound like Traffic Light." Jinx groaned in annoyance. "We should probably call him, but in the meantime, how about we celebrate with some ice cream?"

As the Honorary Titans left the room and the doors locked securely, a shadowy figure jumped out of the air vent and entered the new safety code on the ray's holding place. He let out an evil laugh as he took the ray from its place without an alarm going off, and replaced it with an exact, unusable replica.

"Indeed, young Titan, you were beginning to sound like an old apprentice of mine. Thank you for that delicious piece of information I otherwise wouldn't have obtained. Perhaps I'll spare you and your little boyfriend when I exact my revenge on your friends." He examined the ray and imagined its effect on his target. "I know exactly who could use this, and I'll bet we have a common agenda."

* * *

"So you agree to leave my planet in peace if we give up our warrior culture and become… farmers?"

Starfire stood at a pedestal facing a commanding Psion and a hologram of the Citadel dictator. Behind her, the Titans stood ready to defend their friend if the Psions broke their agreement. Starfire was dressed in traditional Tamaranean armour, the same one she had worn when she crashed on Earth. Galfore felt that the Tamaraneans needed to see their princess in attire that represented her royal heritage and status, and that the Psions would take her demands more seriously. Below the palace balcony, the remaining Tamaraneans watched the negotiation take place.

Earlier, as she stared at herself in the mirror, she did not recognize herself. First she saw the frightened and dangerous escaped slave that she had been when she landed on Earth. Then she saw the torn and unwilling bride in a white dress. Then she saw herself, in her traditional armour, unrecognizable.

"Who am I?" she whispered.

Hands gently placed a crown on her head, but it was not her k'norfka this time. Robin. "You're Starfire, the bravest, strongest, most amazing girl I've ever met." He hugged her from behind and caught her gaze in the mirror. Starfire leaned into his chest and sighed happily. "You care more about other people than yourself, and you see right through me. You're kind, intelligent, and more than capable of doing the right thing. I've been your best friend longer than I've been your boyfriend, Star, and I've watched you grow into this amazing person that I'm lucky to have as my girlfriend."

The princess locked eyes with the Titans leader, who stood in a martial arts stance as he watched the negotiation. He smiled, and nodded at her. Starfire felt her doubts melt away.

The chameleon-like alien glared down at the Tamaranean princess with unblinking eyes. "Yes. All Tamaraneans must surrender their weapons and warrior ways in favour of a more peaceful and productive agricultural lifestyle. If you comply, then all enemy forces will retreat the planet and never attack again."

Starfire swallowed. This was surprising to hear from the same sadistic scientist who experimented on her and tested her pain tolerance. It was unsettling and suspicious, and she knew they were hiding something, but she had to do what was right for Tamaran. "Then we accept."

There were no cheers as the princess, the Grand Ruler, and the commanding Psion signed the peace treaty. Shortly thereafter, an entire alien armada soared up into the sky and obscured their sun, before disappearing completely. The commanding Psion was beamed up to his ship, leaving the inhabitants of the planet stunned.

All eyes were on the princess. "People of Tamaran, do not fear! Our enemy will not attack our home ever again!" The Tamaraneans cheered loudly, shouting in their native tongue. Starfire gestured for them to quiet down. "We may have lost many loved ones, but they did not die in vain. The Citadel has agreed to leave our beloved planet in peace if we take on an agricultural way of life. I believe that this is a good thing, as it will help us restore our planet's vegetation and rebuild our society. Never fear, fellow Tamaraneans. We shall prevail, and the glory days of Tamaran will return. I leave you in good hands — the hands that cared for me as a child. He is a strong leader, and he loves our planet. Until I return with the lost prince, he shall be your leader. Hail X'hal!"

"HAIL X'HAL!"

"Hail Emperor Galfore!"

"HAIL EMPEROR GALFORE!"

The Tamaraneans erupted into cheer, and Starfire floated over to her friends and k'norfka.

"I have never been so proud of you, my bumgorf," Galfore rejoiced, gathering the princess into his embrace. "You have grown into a gracious and brave young woman, a selfless leader, just like your mother."

Starfire blushed. "I could not have done it without my friends. They are my family, they have taught me much. I wish I could stay and oversee the rebuilding of our society, but my heart is on Earth."

"Farewell, dear princess. I wish you luck in finding your brother."

Good byes this time were hasty, and in moments the Teen Titans were on their way home. Robin smiled at Starfire.

"We're really proud of you, Star. Especially me. I can't imagine how hard it is to be royalty." They blushed, but unlike the days before Tokyo, there was no awkwardness. "And we will find your brother, I will make sure of it!"

"Thank you, my dear Robin. I thank you, my friends, for supporting me in this difficult time." Starfire was back to her cheery, happy self. "I cannot wait to return home and celebrate with unhealthy delicacies!"

"KF better not have eaten my soy ice cream," Beast Boy grumbled.

"Bro, no one wants your nasty fake ice cream," Cyborg retorted. Beast Boy stuck his tongue out at him. "I for one, can't wait to see my girl again."

"And I can't wait to finish my books," Raven added, shrouding all feelings of loneliness. For now, she was content that things on Tamaran had been resolved. But the empath still sensed worry from the alien princess. "Don't worry, Star. It's over."

The alien princess sadly shook her head. "I fear it is not yet over. Wildfire is still out there somewhere, and the Psions may go looking for him. The Citadel are a stubborn race. They do not give up easily. I fear that this is merely a 'coverup' for something more sinister."

"We'll be ready," Robin reassured her. Then he picked up his T-Communicator and called Kid Flash. "Robin to Kid Flash, report."

"Hey Traffic Light!" Kid Flash greeted, his mouth full of strawberry ice cream. Beside him, Jinx waved. "Coming home soon?"

"Yeah, just a few more hours and we'll land on the Tower. Anything happen while we were gone?"

Jinx shrugged. "We had a run-in with some robots at Wayne Enterprises. But we took care of 'em, no harm done."

"Nothing gets past Kid Flash and his girl!"

Robin froze. "Robots? At Wayne Enterprises?" He stared at Kid Flash suspiciously, the gears turning in his mind. "Whose robots?"

Jinx bit her lip, hesitant to tell him. While she'd never before seen the side of Robin that came out at the very mention of Slade, the Teen Titans had told her stories of his uncontrollable rage and obsession with the criminal mastermind. "There was an S on their chests… they were after this ultraviolet destabilizer ray —"

_"Slade." _Robin seethed, and Starfire watched him with concern. The side of Robin she feared was resurfacing.

"Are you certain, the Kid Flash and friend Jinx?" she asked.

"Unless someone copied all his robots and pasted his symbol on them, probably," Kid Flash replied. "Don't worry, Rob. The ray is safe."

The Teen Wonder darkened. "Knowing Slade, I'm not so sure."

* * *

Blackfire threw her empty lunch tray at the walls of her holding cell. 'Stupid Titans, stupid little sister…' She pounded on the layered glass wall, which was equipped with ultraviolet destabilizers so that she couldn't use her powers. "Hey jerkface, I'm thirsty!"

A slot opened, and a glass of water appeared. Blackfire took the glass, sipped the water, and angrily threw it at the wall. It shattered and left nothing but a wet mark on the wall.

"Who does she think she is? She can't disown me! She can't deny that I'm her sister! We have the same blood!" she screamed at no one. "No one imprisons Princess Blackfire! I'll get you little sister, if it's the last thing I do!" She pounded on the door. "HEY JERKFACE, GET ME SOME MORE WATER!"

The slot opened again, but nothing was placed in front of her. Blackfire listened as she heard the guard gasp, before bones were cracked and a body was thrown against the glass wall.

"Who goes there?" she yelled. "I'm not afraid of you!" She stared at the glass wall, waiting for another guard to come by. A circular object with the letter S on the front attached itself to the wall, beeping slowly, then urgently. Blackfire gasped, and ran to the far wall.

_BOOM_! There was a deafening explosion, and the exiled princess covered her face as glass shards flew. When the smoke cleared, a man stood atop the rubble, stepping out of the shadows. She took note that he was wearing black and copper armour and an S on his chest. His face was concealed by a metal mask, and only one eye showed.

"Thank goodness for that," he said coolly, kicking a shard of glass. "I wouldn't want you to be afraid of me, your highness."

Blackfire glared, and she felt her eyes light up with the blackbolts she was known for. "Who are you? What do you want from me?"

The man put up his hand gently. "I'm not a threat to you, princess. I believe we have a common enemy, and I am in need of a competent ally." He pulled the ultraviolet destabilizer ray from behind his back and handed it to her. "Go ahead, shoot me. It won't work on me. But I know who it could harm, and I can bet that you do too."

The alien princess smiled viciously, admiring the weapon in her hands. "You have my attention."

"Come princess, we must leave or the guards will come," the man said. "We'll talk more elsewhere."

"I didn't get your name, handsome," she purred as they left the prison.

"Friends call me _Deathstroke."_

* * *

_There you have it! The first episode of my version of season six! Sorry if it's a bit long… Also I used some information from the Teen Titans Go! comics and the original DC comics. There's some made up galaxies and planets too, and I don't know if an ultraviolet destabilizer ray would ever be possible. But in this season it's a pretty huge deal._

_Anyway, ooh la la I left you on a cliffhanger! Old friends, new enemies and a new alliance… what could this bring to our favourite group of heroes?_

_More to come! Now that I'm finished, I have to get back to studying for my exams._

_R & R, no flames please!_

_Maribel ∞_


	3. Episode 2 - The Sun Never Sets

_A/N: Hey again! Just finished my last exam and I'm totally relieved it's over! Thanks so much for your wonderful reviews! They're really encouraging and I'm glad to know that you guys are as excited about my story as much as I am._

_Just to clarify, I know that Slade seemed a bit off in the last episode. That was me trying to create suspense, and purposely used his original DC comics name. I thought it would be more interesting it because a) to me it's a lot more badass than "Slade," and b) to confuse the characters, not the readers. I promise I'll try to portray Slade (aka. Deathstroke) as close to the Teen Titans Slade as possible. __A huge part of being a writer is improving your skills, so I intend to do just that with the rest of this fanfiction._

___Anyway, on with episode two! To kick off the start of summer vacation (well, for me), our favourite group of heroes are going on a trip to the beach, but like usual, they always find trouble! This is going to be a_ little_ more light-hearted than the last one, as we know how quickly a TT episode can go from hilarious and goofy to serious and dark. I don't think I'm going to put in a section break for the Teen Titans theme song anymore, since I can't decide where to put it._

_Summary: Summer's here, and for a change, the Teen Titans decide to go to the Jump City beach. To get more followers on InstaPik, Beast Boy decides to go on a mission for embarrassing beach pictures of his friends. Meanwhile, Robin faces his greatest challenge yet: keeping Starfire safe from the dangerous species known as the Adolescent Male Human. Just a typical day fighting evil at the beach for the Teen Titans._

_Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans franchise, not the show nor the DC comics. If I did, would I really be writing fanfiction?_

* * *

_Season 6, Episode 2: The Sun Never Sets_

_"Well, Jump City, it looks like today's going to be another scorcher, with a high of 100 degrees and absolutely no clouds,"_ announced the Jump City Hitz DJ through the T-Car's speakers. _"For those of you heading out to the beach, make sure you bring sunscreen!"_

In the back seat of the T-Car next to the right window, Raven scoffed. "Hear that, Beast Boy? _Wear sunscreen."_

The green shapeshifter rolled his eyes. "I might have a short attention span but I'm pretty sure the DJ said to 'bring sunscreen,' which I did!"

"It goes without saying, Beast Boy," Robin interjected lightly. "Remember when we were in the desert fighting the Brotherhood of Evil and you got that really bad sunburn on your —"

"Okay!" Beast Boy cried, flailing his arms in his seat and narrowly missing the faces of the girls on either side of him. "No one needs to hear that again!"

"Dude, no one wants to _see_ that again, so do us and your green butt a favour and wear sunscreen!" Cyborg said sternly, staring down his friend in the rear-view mirror.

"Right, so, why are we going to a public beach when we have our very own _private_ beach on Titans Island?" Raven asked, still annoyed.

"Because it's more fun!" Beast Boy retorted. "Volleyball games, surfing contests, ice cream carts —"

"Greasy, middle-aged, half-naked people lying on multi-coloured towels in order to toast their skin?"

Robin, Starfire, and Cyborg laughed. Then Cyborg added, "Sarah's friend from college closed off a section of the beach for the end-of-semester party he's throwing and extended the invite to us, so I don't think we'll have to worry about tanning moms."

"Don't get my hopes up."

* * *

The Teen Titans didn't realize, however, that they were being watched. In a dark and dank underground hideout, an unlikely alliance watched the young heroes by hacking into the city's surveillance and cameras on a series of television screens.

Deathstroke — who had recently removed his Slade symbol from his robots and uniform — turned to his new partner, Blackfire. "Have you contacted the Citadel?"

"Everything's in place," the exiled princess replied coolly. " Starfire was one of their favourites… they'll be happy to have her back. Now all we have to do is sit back and wait." She looked him in the eye and smirked. "If this works, you'll soon be ruling with an iron fist on which the sun never sets." Kissing up was one of the things Blackfire did best. It worked with the Titans when she first met them; it was guaranteed to work on this overconfident crime lord. And once she got his trust, that's when she'll strike him down. "Emperor Deathstroke, Grand Ruler of Earth."

"It has a nice ring to it."

"So what's your motive? Revenge? Fulfilling some childhood fantasy?" She encircled the man, playfully dancing her fingers on his shoulders until he swatted her away.

The crime lord chuckled. "Dear princess, what do people on your planet value most?"

Blackfire paused. "For as long as I could remember, Tamaraneans valued peace and emotional relationships above everything. I know, _pathetic,_ right?"

"My dear, it is the same here on Earth, for the most part. Peace, security, family… Imagine if I took all those away, what would happen to the human spirit? It would be crushed, discouraged from taking a stand against me, forced to adapt to this new way of life! Imagine all the cities in the world falling to their knees, begging for mercy as I destroy everything they hold dear. Jump City, Steel City, Keystone City, Gotham… Everything the Teen Titans cherish will go to waste. It's a beautiful dream, isn't it?"

"It appears we have a common agenda, partner dear," Blackfire purred.

Deathstroke nodded and began to walk away. "We have much more in common than you think, Blackfire." The tone of his voice indicated that he was giving her a warning, not a mere statement.

"Sister dear has no idea what's about to hit her," she replied, turning her attention back to the monitors. She watched Starfire laugh with her friends. "Have your beach fun, little sister. But we'll see who gets the last laugh."

* * *

At last, Cyborg pulled the T-Car into the dusty gravel parking lot next to Jump City Beach, and soon the Titans were unloading their things and heading down to the party. After having had his "baby" stolen multiple times in the past, Cyborg had installed brand new and advanced security systems in his T-Car with the help of Raven. It was now pick-proof, smash-proof, hack-proof and, most importantly, Gizmo-proof. With the press of a button in his arm and a loud chirp, the T-Car's security systems activated.

"Hey, Titans! You made it!" Sarah greeted as the Teen Titans arrived on the scene. The girl was wearing denim shorts and a pink and orange bikini top, her blonde locks loose. Starfire flew over to give her friend a brief but bone-crushing hug. "Good to see you too, Starfire," she rasped, then caught her breath. "I was beginning to think you guys would cancel because you were too busy saving the world!" She stared pointedly at Robin and smiled to let him know she was joking.

Robin shrugged. "I was… expertly persuaded."

"Cough — by a kiss from Star — cough, cough!" Beast Boy hacked, loudly pretending to cough. Robin blushed furiously, while Starfire giggled.

Sarah smirked. "I should've known."

"Beast Boy is partially correct. I did succeed in persuading Robin, but I had only engaged in lip contact with him after we devised a compromise," Starfire explained happily. "We may do the hanging out and the chilling out at this party on the condition that each of us keep our Titan-Communicators on our person at all times." To rest her case, she fished her T-Communicator out of her beach bag and held it out for Sarah to see.

"Well, that's understandable," Sarah replied. "I'm glad you guys could make it!" Then she spotted her half-robot boyfriend. "Cyborg! You're here!" The blonde ran up to Cyborg and leapt into his open arms. "Come on, I wanna introduce you to my friends. And if you guys need to change, there are tents by the porta-potties to use as change rooms." With that, the couple walked off.

As Starfire, Robin, and Beast Boy left to change in the tents, Raven found an empty spot on the beach and put up the Titans' large yellow beach umbrella. Then the empath kicked off her boots, shed her cloak, lay down a blue towel, and sat in the shade to read her favourite author's latest novel.

Beast Boy was the first to arrive back, with white zinc-oxide on his nose, sunglasses, and a purple and black Hawaiian-print pair of trunks. "We're at a college beach party and all you wanna do is read? C'mon, Rae, lighten up! Sit in the sun, put your feet in the water, play in the sand — pfft!" The shapeshifter was cut off by a dark energy blast of sand in his face. "Bleh! There's sthand in my moufth!"

"There. I played in the sand," she said dryly.

Still spitting out sand, the shapeshifter glared at his friend. "Sthuit yourthelf." He laid down his green towel and dropped his bag on it, then sifted through it.

Robin arrived next, in green trunks with his signature Robin symbol on the left leg, his utility belt, and his mask. He laid out a yellow towel next to Raven's and set his backpack on it. "It's a nice day, Raven, you sure you don't want to step out in the sun?"

Not looking up from her book, she replied, "In case you haven't noticed, I hate the sun. No matter what kind of sunscreen I wear, I get really bad sunburns, so no thanks. I'll be fine here."

Finally, Beast Boy found what he was looking for. "Check it out, guys! Remember that time we stopped Overload from destroying the Pomegranate Store? Well the owner was so happy that he wanted to give us something, and I know you guys said no but I couldn't resist." He held out the shiny black device in his hand for his friends to see, the Pomegranate logo on the back.

"The _Y-Phone 5_?" Robin shouted angrily. "I told you, Beast Boy, you don't need a phone! We have the T-Communicators if you ever need to —"

"But this isn't just any phone!" Beast Boy argued, his eyes still twinkling. "It's the Y-Phone _5! _It's a thousand times better than the Y-Phone 4Z, with a bigger high definition screen, a sleek thinner body, a high definition back and front camera, 3G data, _and_ 36 gigabytes of space! Imagine all the apps I can download with this baby! I can finally InstaPik every awesome thing I see, everywhere I go!"

"Why do you need a Y-Phone?" Raven asked, rolling her eyes.

_"'Y don't you need a Y-Phone?'"_ was Beast Boy's argument, using the Pomegranate Store's slogan.

"Y-Phones are for tech snobs who can't live without a device that allows them to show off every moment of their mundane lives on the mind-sucking network known as the Internet."

"You're _so_ soft grunge, Rae."

"Do you even _know_ what soft grunge is?"

Before anyone could retort, the three were interrupted by a bubbly voice shouting, "Friends! What a glorious day it is today! I marvel in this magnificent wave of heat!"

The three Titans forgot about the Y-Phone and turned their attention to their alien friend. Then jaws dropped to the ground as they took in her attire. A stark contrast from her usual Tamaranean outfit, Starfire wore nothing but an itsy-bitsy, teeny-weeny, yellow polka-dot bikini. They had never before seen their friend reveal so much skin, even in her everyday clothes, and it was not only shocking, but arguably intriguing. They soon realized they weren't the only ones who noticed. It was as if the entire beach had frozen in time to stare at the floating alien princess. Even the Pacific Ocean waves seemed to cease at high tide.

Raven was the first to recover from her shock. "Uh… Starfire? Where did you get that bikini?"

The alien princess flew over to the Titans' spot on the beach, lay down her pink towel, and put down her bag. Silkie climbed out of it wearing Starfire's green floppy hat. "Oh, I did some research on Earth's beaches and found that females normally wear revealing swim attire on their beach excursions, so in order to fit in I purchased this Earth bikini on the line." She then realized that her friends were still staring at her strangely, so she blushed. "Why? Does it not fit me properly? Do I look humorous?"

The shapeshifter smirked. "Nah, you actually look great, Star." He held up his phone and opened InstaPik. "I am _so_ InstaPikking this! Star, smile!" The alien princess grinned as her green friend took her picture and posted it on the Internet. "Sweet! A million likes already!"

"Excellent!" Starfire clapped her hands happily, oblivious to Beast Boy's actions.

"You have sunscreen on, right, Starfire?" Raven asked, concerned for her friend's health.

"The lotion that blocks out the ultraviolet-B radiation from the sun?" Starfire giggled. "Oh, no, friend Raven, I thank you for your concern, but I do not require protection from ultraviolet radiation. My powers of flight and starbolts come from absorption of ultraviolet radiation. The people of my planet are able to harness not only their emotions, but the ultraviolet energy into flight." Raven nodded understandingly. Then Starfire turned to her boyfriend. "Dearest Robin, does my Earth bikini not please you?"

The Titans leader, renowned for his focus and seriousness, was at a loss for words, and his face contorted into various funny expressions. "Uh… gah — um…" To help her friend, Raven smacked him in the back of the head with her powers. "Youlookgreat!" he finally spat out with a strained voice, his face now an unnatural shade of red.

Starfire giggled joyously. "Thank you, Robin!" Then she noticed his colour. "I wish to reciprocate the compliment, however, you look as if you ate a hot Tamaranean kosh'o pepper! Are you the okay? Shall we take you out of the direct sunlight and bring you an icy beverage?"

Robin smiled at his girlfriend. "It's okay, Star. I'm fine. Why don't you join me for a swim —"

"Whoa! It's that hot alien girl from the Teen Titans!" a group of good-looking teenage boys shouted, and in seconds Robin was shoved aside as a swarm of drooling teenage muscleheads surrounded his girlfriend.

Innocent little Starfire didn't notice the excited yet ravenous looks on their faces or even the steam that blew out of Robin's ears and nostrils. "Hello, Adolescent Male Humans! Are you enjoying your day in the sun?"

"Can I get a picture?"

"Are you really dating Robin?"

"You're _so_ hot!"

"Wanna go out?"

Behind them, Robin seethed with jealousy. While he was proud that he finally hit his growth spurt and now stood two inches taller than his girlfriend as well as having built more muscle, he couldn't help but fear that these guys would steal away Starfire's heart.

"Dudes, I am so InstaPikking this!" Beast Boy cried mischievously as he snapped pictures of Starfire's fans and a jealous Robin. "Hashtag Teen Titans, Hashtag Jealous Robin, Hashtag LOL!"

Robin hissed. "Beast Boy, don't post that."

"I'm gonna post it!" he sang tauntingly.

Robin stood in a martial arts stance, willing to attack his friend if it meant preventing him from sharing that embarrassing picture with the world. "Last chance, Beast Boy. Delete that picture!"

"TOO LATE!" the shapeshifter cried as he selected a random InstaPik filter and hit the "publish" button. Then he screamed as the Teen Wonder lunged at him, and he morphed into a dog and ran away with the phone in his mouth.

When he was far enough, Beast Boy went back into his human form. "Sweet! Five thousand new followers!" A wicked smirk spread on his face. "Better keep the people happy so that they'll come back for more! Hey, where's Cyborg? He's always good for laughs."

"…and then Beast Boy said, 'Brain Freeze!' and everyone was like, _'Ughh!'_ 'Cause like, we just defeated the guy he's been chasin' since he was little, and that was the best he could come up with? _Robin_ could have said something better, and you've heard him!" Cyborg joked, his arm around his girlfriend as they laughed with some of her friends from college.

Sarah giggled. "Yeah, I've heard him. You'd think the Batman would teach him better comebacks!" As Cyborg leaned in to give his girlfriend a kiss, a green bee flew between them, and before they could swat it away it morphed into the human form of none other than Beast Boy.

"WASSUP?" the shapeshifter shouted teasingly, mirroring the way he'd interrupted Starfire and Robin in Tokyo. Even the couple's expressions matched the ones he'd seen on them, unhinged jaws and eyes as wide as dinner plates. Laughing hysterically, he snapped a picture of the two with his Y-Phone. "Hashtag Teen Titans, Hashtag Metal Butt, Hashtag Busted, Hashtag LOL! And, _send!"_

"BB, ya better delete that picture," the embarrassed half-robot growled, cracking his knuckles.

The shapeshifter paid no attention as he eyed his phone. "Awesome! Two thousand new followers and a million likes!"

"I'm gonna ask you one more time to delete that picture or I'll —"

Sarah put her hand on her boyfriend's arm comfortingly. "Cyborg, don't —"

"Hey, Sare! Nice face!" her friend yelled from his spot at the barbecue. He was holding up his phone, which displayed the InstaPik photo of them with a gold-tinted filter.

The blonde glared and dropped her hand. "Have fun, baby." She kissed him on the cheek and smirked before walking away.

"AHHHHH!" Beast Boy screamed as his friend charged at him like an angry bull. "HELP!" Then his T-communicator beeped, and Robin's face appeared on the screen.

_"Titans, trouble!"_

* * *

Across the beach, teenage partygoers fled the water screaming as heavily built masked men in black armour rose out of the ocean. Robin and Raven were already evacuating the beach grounds, with Raven shielding them from the masked men's laser guns while they grabbed their things and ran to their vehicles.

Beast Boy and Cyborg arrived on the scene, with Cyborg holding the shapeshifter in a headlock. "Who are these guys?"

"I don't know," Robin replied, "but just in case, don't injure them badly. We don't know if they're human or not." The boys ducked to the ground as a slew of lasers came at them.

Beast Boy groaned in pain under Cyborg's grip. "Hey Cy? If I said I was sorry, would you forgive me and let go of me?"

A devious smile appeared on the half-robots face. "Nope, but this might." He took his friend's Y-Phone and handed it to Robin, who instantly understood. "Smile, BB!" The Teen Wonder laughed as he snapped a picture of a grinning Cyborg holding an annoyed Beast Boy underneath him in a headlock, then selected a random filter and hit "publish."

"NO!" Beast Boy cried. Cyborg finally let go of him and the shapeshifter took his phone back. "Hey, a million likes already!"

"Okay, Titans, back to business. Time to take these guys out!"

Raven appeared beside them. "Everyone's gone, and I made sure Sarah got out safely. Where's Starfire?"

"Thanks, Rae." Then Cyborg turned to their leader. "I thought she was with you?"

Annoyed, Robin glared. "I couldn't get past her fanboys without hurting them — _Look out!"_

Suddenly, one of the men threw a small explosive device at the four Teen Titans, and Raven put up a shield around them. When the smoke cleared, the Titans prepared for battle.

"Titans, go!"

The four ran towards the men, and Robin pulled out his staff and twirled it around. Beast Boy morphed into a tiger and pounced on three of the masked men, growling ferociously.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" Raven yelled, and the remaining beach umbrellas rose up, closed, and shot their pointy ends towards the beach invaders. The umbrellas hit five of the men square in the chest, but one masked man attacked the empath from behind and brought her down to the ground, a taser-like weapon in hand.

"Raven!" Cyborg cried, and he charged his sonic cannon to a medium setting. "Get ya filthy hands off my friend!" Then the half-robot pointed his sonic cannon at the man and blasted its blue ray at him. The man was thrust away from the empath with a loud crack, and Cyborg cheered. _"Booyah!" _He then helped his friend to her feet. "You okay?"

Raven huffed. "Peachy."

_"Kiai!"_ Robin shouted as he leapt upwards and did a roundhouse kick to a man's face. Another man lunged at him with a sword-like weapon and the Teen Wonder easily grabbed his arm and thrust him to the ground, then he held him down by pressing his bo staff to the man's throat. "Who do you work for?! What are you after?!"

"Robin!" a voice cried out, and green blasts of energy hit the masked man who was about to sneak attack the Titans leader. "Get away from him!" Robin looked up to see Starfire floating in the air, her eyes lit green and starbolts in her fists. She then proceeded to throw them at the remaining men, and failed to notice a laser gun pointed at her from behind.

"Starfire!" Robin shouted, and he smacked the man he was questioning in the head before rushing off to aid his girlfriend. He threw a bird-a-rang at the man with the gun and punched another in the face. Beside him, Beast Boy morphed into a pteranodon and hoisted three men a hundred feet in the air before dropping them on top of the men attacking Cyborg and Raven.

Finally, the Titans were victorious, and all of the men were lying unconscious on the sand, their weapons strewn about.

"Is it just me," Raven remarked, "or are the bad guys getting weaker?"

Beast Boy smirked with her. "Maybe we're just getting stronger." They held each other's gaze.

Cyborg clapped his green friend on the back, forcing the two to break eye contact. "Now that we're done here, I'm gonna call Sarah and see if she's okay."

"Hold on, Cy," Robin said, picking up a small spherical device and examining it over one of the masked men. "We still don't know why they attacked the beach in the first place. There's nothing to steal, and what would they wanna steal? Their weapons are so much more advanced than our regular criminals'."

"Perhaps they simply meant to invoke terror in us," Starfire suggested, peering over another masked man. "This is a popular beach, yes?"

Robin nodded. "You might be onto something, Star." He dropped the device, went beside her and took her hand. "So… What happened with those meatheads?"

"Why, Robin, are you jealous?" she tittered playfully. The Teen Wonder reddened. "There is no need to worry, dear Robin. I merely took photographs and volleyed the ball with them, then I went looking for you, but you had pursued Beast Boy in a frenzy."

The Teen Wonder rubbed his neck, embarrassed. "Sorry. I went looking for you, too, but I couldn't get past all those guys."

Starfire sensed his disdain, and kissed him softly. "Do not fret, dear Robin. You are my —"

Without warning, the device that Robin had held earlier went off, and the Titans were blasted five feet away from where they previously stood. With surprised yelps, the Teen Titans landed on the sand and groaned in pain.

"Is everyone all right?" Robin asked as the smoke cleared, looking for any sign of injury in his team mates. The others nodded in reply. Then they looked up and gasped in shock.

The large armoured men were all back on their feet and were surrounding the Titans in a tight circle. One of the masked men shouted something incomprehensible, and two men forcefully grabbed Starfire.

"Robin!" she cried fearfully as she attempted to wrestle out of their hold. But even with her alien strength, these men were holding her too tightly.

"Starfire! Let go of her!" Robin screamed, and he lunged at the two men, only to be swatted away by another. The rest of the men pointed their lasers at the Titans and prevented them from rescuing their friend.

"Release me at once!" Starfire shouted. Then she froze as a familiar, sinister device was held up to her face, and she knew instantly who the beach invaders were. It was a device she knew all too well from her days as a slave: a small circle that would scan her from head to toe with a scalding hot laser to assess her abilities so that the Psions could keep track of her condition. If she was healthy, they would torture her, and if she was malnourished or injured, they would experiment on her. She let out a bloodcurdling, fearful scream as the red-hot ray hit her face and slowly made its way down the rest of her body.

"You are our property, Troq!" the creature holding the scanner roared in its alien language. Unwilling to fight back, Starfire felt numb. The Citadel had instilled in her a paralysing fear since the days of her slavery. "You are never rid of us!" Then with a malicious laugh, he unsheathed a small, ornately decorated knife and plunged it into her stomachs.

_"STARFIRE!"_ Robin screamed desperately, and he pulled out his bo staff and whirled it around. "Raven, get ready!" He took out a smoke bomb from his utility belt. "Now!" he shouted to the empath as he threw the smoke bomb onto the ground. The men coughed and sputtered, and when the smoke cleared the Teen Titans were gone. Then the men found themselves floating in the air and trapped in a black sphere.

"Titans, go! And don't hold back!"

Beast Boy morphed into a tyrannosaurus rex and charged at the man holding the scanning device, then took him into his teeth and shook him back and forth before dropping him. Cyborg blasted the man holding Starfire's left arm, leapt up and threw a punch on the subdued man. Then Robin jumped up, spun his bo staff and whacked the man holding Starfire's arm, and before she could fall to the ground he caught her and cradled her head.

Raven, who kept up the bubble with her magic, shouted her incantation. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" Two of the three remaining men were picked up and thrown into her bubble, and Beast Boy morphed into a large gorilla to hold up the remaining man and restrain his arms.

"Time to see the man behind the mask," Cyborg said, and with that he pulled off the black metal mask that hid the man's face. He, Beast Boy, Raven, and Robin gasped as they realized that the beach invaders weren't at all human. A black, gorilla-like face glared back at them and shouted in an alien language.

Robin stood up and held a semi-conscious Starfire in his arms, carefully avoiding putting pressure on the knife that was still lodged in her body. He stroked her face gently and prayed that she wasn't seriously injured. There was no telling what that alien device had done to her, or whether or not the blade was poisoned. "Starfire, it's okay, you're safe now. You'll get to sleep later, but right now I really need you to tell me if you know these guys and why they're after you. Can you hear me, Star?"

His girlfriend moaned in pain softly, and stared into Robin's masked eyes. "The… Citadel." Then she slumped against him, and he checked her pulse. It was weak, but she was still alive.

The Titans leader growled angrily and turned to the alien. "You stay away from her! Your people and the Psions had a deal!"

But if the alien understood him, he didn't let on, and he bared his fangs. Then Beast Boy was thrown over his shoulders and into Cyborg, but not before the shapeshifter morphed back into his human form so as not to crush his friend. The alien tapped his arm platelets and instantly disappeared, along with the aliens in Raven's bubble.

Raven floated over to her unconscious friend and inspected the knife injury. "I can't remove this here or I could harm her. My powers don't work as well on her alien anatomy. We have to get her back home."

Beast Boy peered at Starfire sadly. "Is she gonna be okay?"

Cyborg put a hand on his friend's shoulder. "It's Starfire. She'll pull through this."

* * *

Back at Titans Tower, Raven hovered over an unconscious Starfire and examined the knife wound. The alien princess lay in one of the hospital beds and was attached in the most unlikely places to various monitors, as Cyborg had taken an x-ray of her the week before they went off to fight the Brotherhood of Evil. There was no way they were taking chances with her alien anatomy, which was in many ways very different from the human body.

"She's sedated intravenously at maximum human dosage," Cyborg said to Raven and Robin, the latter of whom paced the room anxiously. "I don't know if it's working, but I don't wanna take any chances by OD'ing her."

Beast Boy leaned against the window in the infirmary quietly, fiddling with his Y-Phone that had been damaged in the battle with the Citadel. Not that he cared anymore: the initial excitement he had for it had dissipated and his ten million InstaPik followers no longer meant anything to him. Cyborg watched as his best friend went through his InstaPik account and hit the "Delete My Account" option. "Thanks man," Cyborg said to him.

"No problem. No amount of InstaPik followers could ever replace my friends," the shapeshifter replied with a smile. "My _real_ friends." Then he looked at Robin. "How's Star doing?"

"We're still trying to figure out how to get this knife out without her losing too much blood," Robin grimly replied, still pacing. "We can't exactly give her a blood transfusion."

"I've healed most of her burns, but I don't want to risk taking the knife out yet," Raven added.

Robin stopped in his tracks. "I'm going to call Galfore and see what he knows about the Tamaranean anatomy." Before he could leave the infirmary, a soft groan caught his ear.

"It's okay, Starfire, you're safe," Raven gently said to her friend, wiping her forehead with a cool damp cloth. "Try not to move, there's a —"

"I know," the alien princess interrupted with a tired voice. "It is all right, friends." Then, to her friends' astonishment and alarm, she lifted her arm and pulled the knife out of her body without as much as a wince. The Titans recoiled in horror as they watched. The blade was about five inches long, and beneath the blood, there were elaborate inscriptions in the metal. Its handle was black and copper, intricately carved with snakes breathing fire. Robin took the knife away from her and passed it to Cyborg as Raven pressed gauze onto the wound, and then she used her powers to close up the skin.

"I've done my best, but you're going to need stitches." With that, the empath went to get the necessary supplies in the infirmary cabinets.

"Doesn't that hurt?" Beast Boy asked, hysteria filling his voice. "I mean, I know I play all these violent zombie video games and fight all these bad guys, but never in my life have I seen someone just casually yank a knife out of their guts!"

Starfire chuckled as Raven stitched up the remainder of her wound. "Friend Beast Boy, you forget that I am not human, and I have a higher tolerance for pain and discomfort."

"Still!"

Cyborg rolled his eyes. "Why were those freaks after you? I thought that Tamaran had a peace treaty with them and the Psions."

"That is correct, friend Cyborg. But the peace treaty only applies to Tamaran, not to the Tamaraneans living on other planets," she said sadly.

Robin took her hand, surprised not at her selflessness, but at her self-sacrifice. "Starfire, why didn't you ask them to leave you alone?"

Starfire stared at her boyfriend in disbelief. "Dear Robin, I was not negotiating for myself. As the princess, I had to do what was best for _Tamaran. _The peace treaty was for their benefit." She touched his face gently. "I will be all right, dear Robin. You need not worry. I am certain that after today, they shall twice ponder before pursuing me again." That was partially true. She could take care of herself, but having acquired their language a long time ago — forcibly by her master, at that — she had understood what the Citadel had said to her and knew they would stop at nothing to get her back. But she didn't want to worry the already troubled Titan leader.

Robin scrunched his eyebrows at her, sensing something was off. The empath, who also sensed that her friend was lying, said nothing as she sterilized the stitched wound and the needle. "As long as you're okay," he concluded, and he kissed her cheek.

As Cyborg carefully placed the knife in an evidence bag, something on the blade caught his eye. He adjusted his artificial eye and scanned it carefully, then found what he was looking for. "Guys, you might wanna take a look at this." Walking over to the LCD touch screen that displayed Starfire's x-ray and vital signs, he pressed a few buttons and inserted his index finger into the computer. A scanned image of the knife appeared on the screen, and with the press of a few buttons Cyborg enhanced the image to reveal the inscription. The Titans gasped. In bold letters, the knife bore the name "Deathstroke."

_"Deathstroke?"_ Beast Boy gulped. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Robin examined the knife in the evidence bag as the wheels in his brained turned. "What if it's not _what,_ but _who?"_ He let go of his girlfriend's hand and paced the room again._ "_Starfire said that the Citadel are violent and merciless, but that was a pretty easy fight back there. What if their attack — what if injuring Starfire and leaving this knife was a message from whoever they're working for?"

"I must admit that your theory is plausible, dear Robin, but the Citadel do not work for anyone," Starfire added while she detached herself from the monitors and sat upright. "They feel that they are superior to all, including their allies. Even the Psions were their… puppets, is that correct?"

"Yeah, that's right, Star." He smiled at her. "Then maybe this 'Deathstroke' is one of their newest allies. But we still don't know why they attacked the beach or why they're still after you after all this time. And Blackfire somehow got out of prison and Kid Flash and Jinx fought those Sladebots… I feel like they're somehow connected but I know I'm missing something…" He groaned in frustration, stress filling him from head to toe.

"Easy, bro," Cyborg said, placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder. "We don't need a rerun of the Slade dust incident. You should get some shuteye."

Robin sighed and nodded. "All right. Come on, Star. I'll walk you to your room. Get some sleep, Titans. We'll talk more in the morning." He took his girlfriend's hand and helped her out of the bed, then put his arm around her waist. "Cyborg, can you take the knife to the evidence room?"

"No problem. I'm gonna call Sarah and see if she and her friends are okay," Cyborg said as the couple left the infirmary. "You two should get some shuteye, too. It's been a long day."

"Yeah, I know. Hey, do you think we can have another fun-in-the-sun beach day?" Beast Boy asked hopefully. Raven and Cyborg groaned as they walked out of the infirmary. The shapeshifter followed after them.

"I've had enough 'fun in the sun' to last a lifetime," Raven grumbled as she rubbed her skin, which had gained some colour during the battle. She wasn't tan at all, but it was the darkest shade her skin had ever been, and it had taken a lot of energy and aloe to heal her sunburns.

Cyborg chuckled. "That's a nice colour on you, Rae." Then he gulped as the empath's eyes lit up with dark energy. "Oh look at the time, gotta call Sarah!" he said hastily before dashing off to his room.

"So did you really delete your InstaPik account?" Raven asked Beast Boy as they walked to their rooms together. While it was a nice gesture, she knew her friend all too well to just assume that that was the end of his social networking antics.

The shapeshifter smirked mischievously. "Yeah, I deleted it. But that doesn't mean I deleted the pictures. They're still saved on my Y-Phone." An idea came to him. "Hey, Rae?" His friend turned to him and raised an eyebrow. Before she could say anything, the shapeshifter morphed into a chicken and flapped wildly in her face. Raven yelped and shielded herself, then Beast Boy morphed back into his human form and snapped a picture with his Y-Phone, all within seconds. "Gesundheit," he said as Raven sneezed, and then he looked at the picture and burst out laughing. Raven's purple eyes were widened in shock and fear, and her mouth was open while she was still shrieking at his chicken form, which had left green feathers in her short violet hair.

Raven's eyes glowed with dark energy, and Beast Boy let out a girlish scream as he morphed into a mouse and scurried to his room, with Raven pursuing him in the air.

The door to Beast Boy's room locked securely behind him, and he morphed back into his human form. Then he feverishly barricaded the door with all the junk that littered the floor, hid in his bed, and cuddled with Silkie. Suddenly, a black portal appeared in the barricade and Raven floated through, eyes still glowing furiously.

"Okay, Rae, I get it, I'm sorry!" he whimpered. "I'll delete it, just don't hurt me!"

The empath's eyes returned to their normal colour and she smirked. "Oh, I'm not going to hurt you, Beast Boy. But you are going to pay." Then she lifted her hands. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" The Y-Phone became engulfed in dark energy and floated out of Beast Boy's grip, then separated into bits and pieces.

"NO!" Beast Boy cried, catching the pieces and hopelessly attempting to put it back together. "My Y-Phone 5!"

Raven stepped back into her portal. "Sweet dreams, Beast Boy."

* * *

Across the tower in a pink bedroom, Starfire and Robin sat on the alien princess' bed, snuggling on top of the covers as they held each other in a loving embrace.

"Did you have the fun on our beach excursion today, dear Robin?" Starfire asked as she traced circles on her boyfriend's chest.

Robin chuckled. "Yeah, I did, until the muscleheads and the aliens showed up."

"I did as well, dear Robin. You looked very handsome in your swimming garments." Starfire blushed, and kissed his cheek softly.

Now it was Robin's turn to blush. "Thank you. I thought looked very beautiful in your bikini, and evidently, so did the rest of the beach," he grumbled, now overcome with jealousy.

Starfire wiggled out of his arms and sat up. "Robin, you do not need to be jealous of the Adolescent Male Humans. While their attention is very flattering, I do not care for them as much as I care for you. You are my m'halkita."

The Teen Wonder blushed. "That's a good thing, right?"

"In your tongue, m'halkita is translated into 'you are priceless.' The people of my planet use this word as a term of endearment, reserved only for their loved ones."

"Well, then you're my malkita, too," Robin replied, kissing her forehead.

"_M'halkita," _she corrected. Then she paused. "Do you really think that there is a connection between the Citadel's attack and Blackfire's escape?"

Robin sighed. "It's too big a coincidence to brush off — er, ignore. But we'll be ready, Star. Don't you worry. I won't let them hurt you again, I promise." If there was one thing Robin hated more than Slade, it was anyone who threatened to hurt his family. He'd go to hell and back if it meant keeping them all safe and sound.

Starfire sighed. "I fear that you will be unable to keep that promise." Robin's gaze saddened, so she changed the subject. "Would you like to stay the night with me, m'halkita?"

The Teen Wonder smiled. "Sure. You go under the covers, I'll go over."

"Will you not get the chills?"

"Nah, I'll be fine." With that, Starfire slid under her pink blanket and patted the space on top for her boyfriend to lie down on. He happily complied and pulled her back against his chest, then wrapped his arms around her protectively and kissed her forehead.

"You're safe now, Star. Sweet dreams, my m'halkita."

"Pleasant shlorvlaks, m'halkita." Then she closed her eyes and let her mind wander to her family. Her mother and father were dead — there was no need to worry for their safety anymore. But Wildfire was still out there somewhere, vulnerable to the Citadel and oblivious to his situation. Starfire silently vowed that she would find her brother and keep him safe before Blackfire or anyone else could get to him. Then fatigue overcame her and the alien princess felt herself drift off to a peaceful but dreamless sleep.

* * *

In their secret hideout, Blackfire angrily blasted the walls. "What do you mean you haven't found him? He's _one_ person, how hard is it to find _one_ little Tamaranean boy?" she shouted to the Czaranian Bounty Hunters through the intergalactic telecommunicator. "You're bounty hunters, for crying out loud!"

The Czaranian Bounty Hunters remained unfazed, and replied to her in their alien language. "It is a large galaxy, your highness, and no one has seen the boy matching your description."

"Well _find_ him, or I'll cut your reward in half!" Then she switched to another call. "You better have some good news," she hissed to the commanding Citadel. He replied to her in his alien language, and from what Deathstroke could comprehend by the look on Blackfire's face, their mission had only been partially successful. "_What?!_ You didn't finish analysing her? You had _one_ job! ONE JOB!" Then angrily shut off the telecommunicator and huffed. "Sister dear appears to have gotten stronger since her days as a slave. But those _idiots_ didn't finish scanning her, so they don't know what her powers are now capable of. Good help is _so_ hard to find these days."

Deathstroke chuckled as he sharpened an ornate hunting knife in his seat. "I share your complaint, dear partner. Both of my former apprentices had shown promise but… couldn't deliver. But be patient, child. The Titans got their message."

Blackfire rolled her eyes. "How are you so calm? Your pathetic little toothpick isn't enough to maim my little sister. She's… stubborn."

"I didn't ask the Citadel to leave that knife in her to kill her. Believe me child, if I intended to hurt her, I would have laced the blade with Tamaranean poison."

"Why the games, partner?"

The crime lord got up from his chair and put a finger under the former princess' chin, forcing her to look up at him. "Think about it. You know how persistent Robin is when it comes to a mystery. He'll investigate the name 'Deathstroke,' research its origin meticulously, and interrogate anyone he thinks may be connected. It's like a moth to a flame, child. He won't be able to resist. But… stay out of trouble for the time being."

"Who, me? Trouble? You make me laugh," she scoffed. "You're not the boss of me, I'm your _partner!_ And with my royal blood I outrank you!"

Deathstroke slapped her, leaving a red mark on her cheek. Then he gripped her face and forced her to look him in the eye. "If you want this plan to work, you will obey my every command and you will maintain your loyalty to _me._ Cross me, and it will be the last thing you ever do. Understood?" He let go of Blackfire, who nodded slowly. "Good girl." Then he turned and walked back to his chair.

Blackfire rubbed her cheek gingerly and glared at his back. "Don't get too comfortable, _partner."_

* * *

_Author's Notes:_

_Thanks to SKHT for suggesting this to me! I realize it may have been distracting to the readers so from now on, my A/N's will only appear before and after the episode._

_1) I'm Canadian, but I used Fahrenheit here. For those on the metric system like me, that's approx. 37 Celsius. Jump City is presumed to be in California._

_2) Starfire's bikini and Robin's subsequent reaction was i__nspired by the Teen Titans Go! episode Hey Pizza!_

___3) "K__osho" is the phonetic spelling of "pepper" in Japanese, but I added an apostrophe to make it seem Tamaranean._

_____4) The Tamaranean word Starfire calls Robin at the end, "m'halkita," is a play on the Tagalog words "Mahal Kita," which literally means "You are priceless" and used to say "I love you." My Filipino friend told me this and I thought it was the sweetest expression._

_____5) The title of this episode is from the phrase "on which the sun never sets," used by the Spanish dominions in the 17th century and later on the British empire. It's a poetic way of saying that their empires will be worldwide. Or galaxy-wide. Hint, hint._

_____6) I'm aware I said that the alien "plunged [the knife] into her stomachs." That's not a typo. Starfire said in once episode that she has nine stomachs._

_____Wow, it's unbelievable how long it took me to write this, between studying and taking exams… Anyway, I hope this episode isn't too disappointing after the last one. Again, I wanted this one to be more light-hearted, but I didn't want to neglect my story arc. I was trying to mimic the episodes that started off funny and ridiculous but also had some heavy parts to it. Well it's fanfiction, anything is possible!_

_____I'm debating whether or not I should change the story's rating from K+ to T due to some supposedly violent content. Thoughts?_

_____Thanks for reading (and check out my other oneshots pretty please!), and please r & r (no flames)!_

_____Maribel ∞_


	4. Episode 3 - Careful What You Wish For

_A/N: Hi guys! To my fellow Canadians, Happy Canada Day!_

_Thank you all so much for your amazing reviews! They really keep me motivated to complete this story, especially in my moments of writer's block, so thanks so much! I hope I don't disappoint you as the season progresses!_

_This episode took me an agonizingly long amount of time to write, and it took me two days to write the final one. I wanted so badly to write one of those goofy TT episodes that just made people laugh uncontrollably, and I had so many ideas for this in the past week but I couldn't work them out. In the end, I decided to write a mostly serious one centred around Raven. It may seem that she gets a little out of character at times, but you'll find out why in the end. My silly plots will probably come in later on._

_Summary: The Citadel's attack on Starfire has made her desperate to find her brother and she isolates herself from the team. Roles are reversed as Robin feels neglected by his girlfriend, and the boys get on Raven's nerves more than usual, causing her to do something she regrets. It's up to Raven to realize her mistake and repair the damage before it's too late._

_Disclaimer: I wish I did, but I don't own the Teen Titans or any character affiliated with the DC Universe._

* * *

_Season 6, Episode 3 - Careful What You Wish For_

"I'm tellin' you, _Super Marco Kart 3_ is so much better than _Mega Monkeys 5!" _Cyborg shouted, holding up the shiny case for _Super Marco Kart 3_ in hopes of persuading Beast Boy to play that game with him. The Teen Titans were rained out, stuck inside because of the thunderstorm going on outside, and the rain seemed to have caused every criminal in the city to postpone their plans. All were bored out of their minds.

But the shapeshifter was adamant. "No way! How could it be better when five is a bigger number than three?"

"As logical as that point is, we're playin' _Super Marco Kart 3! _Who's with me? Rae? Rob?"

Raven ignored the two, hiding her face behind her book, while Robin stared out the window of the Main Operations Room anxiously. The two boys exchanged looks of concern before Cyborg said, "She said she'll be back soon, Rob. Nuriel is a long way from here, even at the speed of light, that's all."

Slamming his fist on the window, Robin turned to his friends angrily and glared daggers at Cyborg. "She told _you _and not me?!" He strode towards the half-robot with his hands balled into fists at his sides and glowered.

Cyborg raised his hands defensively. "Easy, man, don't go jumping to any conclusions. I caught her leavin' this morning when I was putting up the volleyball net for later. Anyway, she had her bag and was about to take off when I came outside and asked her where she was runnin' off to, in case she was trying to leave the team. All she told me was that she was going to Nuriel and to not tell you so that you wouldn't follow after her. That's all she told me, I swear." He pressed a hand over his heart and held his other in the air.

Sighing in defeat, Robin's fists unclenched, and he flopped onto the couch, bouncing Silkie off his cushion. "I'm sorry. It's just… she's been so weird since the Citadel's attack." He took the larva-worm in his arms and petted him absentmindedly. "She's been locking herself in the investigation room, calling all kinds of aliens on the telecommunicator in languages I didn't even think were possible…" It took all of Robin's energy to not think about the method she used in order to learn them, especially since she'd spoken in at least ten different tongues and all he could picture was an endless line of handsome, strapping alien guys just waiting to "exchange information" through means of "lip contact" with the beautiful Tamaranean princess. _His_ beautiful Tamaranean princess.

"She's been acting kinda like you on Slade mode," Beast Boy mumbled, rubbing his neck awkwardly. Slade mode was the term used to describe Robin whenever he became obsessed with catching the criminal mastermind, to the point where he'd push away his friends and go to drastic means in order to capture him. It was coined after his incident with the Slade dust, and after that incident, Robin vowed he'd never let his desire to defeat his archenemy take over his entire life. The bruise that he'd left on Starfire's arm after he'd grabbed it in a fit of rage and Slade dust influence — he didn't even think it was possible for him to hurt her superiorly-built alien body — was enough to make him see that his obsession with the crime lord was hurting the ones he loved most. "Sorry…" the shapeshifter added when Raven and Cyborg were glaring daggers at him.

Robin shook his head. "No, it's okay. I'm not offended. I know I've been pushing you guys away too, since I've been trying to track down this 'Deathstroke.' I've been in the investigation room with Starfire, but she's so caught up in her search for her brother that she doesn't even notice me kiss her forehead 'good night' every evening."

Cyborg decided to redirect the subject. "Did you find anything on 'Deathstroke?'"

"Nothing. I've gone through all the police records, your locked files, our database, even S.T.A.R. labs files in case this 'Deathstroke' is an alien, but I've gotten nothing. No gangs, no criminals, no aliens… It could mean anything and it could be anyone!" He raked his fingers through his spiky hair in frustration. "Whoever this Deathstroke is, for some reason he's after Starfire and I'm going to do whatever it takes to stop him from ever hurting her again." Silkie made a noise that seemed to indicate agreement with the Teen Wonder, and he shook his little head.

"At the rate Starfire is going, she's going to hurt herself," Raven said, her violet eyes piercing Robin's mask from her seat on the couch. "She barely eats, she hasn't gotten much sleep, she jumps every time someone calls us, she hasn't been paying attention when we're stopping criminals, and now she's gone for hours searching on alien planets. All this stress is hurting her heart, and it's giving me a headache." Her friend's positive energy had always calmed down Raven, and seemed to calm down the rest of the Titans, even when tensions were high. But ever since the Citadel's attack, Starfire had become anxious, and this new abundance of negative energy made the empath irritated and unfocused, and meditating was getting harder with this imbalance.

"Dudes, she needs to relax! I miss the old Starfire!" Beast Boy cried, pouting. "She's like, the only person here who laughs at my jokes and eats my vegetarian meals with me!"

"Then it's a good thing we're havin' a barbecue on the roof tonight when she gets back," Cyborg replied, smacking his friend in the back and knocking him over in the process. "She'll be back to normal before you know it." Then he picked up the game control and smirked at Beast Boy. "Now, ready for me to kick your butt at _Super Marco__ Kart 3_, BB?"

Beast Boy leapt up and glared in the half-robot's face. "No way! I'm not playing that stupid go-kart game! We're playing _Mega Monkeys 5!"_

_"Super Marco Kart!"_

_"Mega Monkeys!"_

_"Marco Kart!"_

_"Monkeys!"_

The two boys continued to bicker incessantly, and instead of yelling at them to stop, Robin simply took out his boom box, sat at the kitchen counter, and turned up the volume loud enough to drown out Cyborg and Beast Boy.

"Robin?" she yelled, using her dark energy to turn down the volume. The Teen Wonder stared at her blankly. "Aren't you going to… you know, do something?" She darted her eyes towards the squabbling Titans, pleading for their leader to mediate the situation. But he merely shrugged, cranked up the volume until her ears hurt, and nodded along to the music.

Raven gritted her teeth, then rubbed her temples in hopes of relieving her ever-worsening headache. 'How did this all even begin…?' she thought to herself. 'Why did Starfire leave me alone with these idiots?' Sometimes her friends could really get on her nerves. Her headache was only worsening with the tension, anger, and anxiety she was feeling in the room.

"We're playing _Super Marco Kart 3!"_

"No, we're playing _Mega Monkeys 5!"_

"That game is for babies!"

"Are you callin' me a baby?!"

_"I can't tell you what it really is, I can only tell you what it feels like…"_

"Well I ain't callin' you a _man,_ monkey boy!"

"'Monkey boy'?!"

_"I can't breathe but I still fight while I can fight / As long as the wrong feels right it's like I'm in flight…"_

"Yeah! You like video games that might as well have been designed by monkeys, you smell like one, and _you can turn into one!"_

"At least my powers don't depend on _batteries, _robo-boy!"

"You little —"

"Little what?"

_"I'm Superman with the wind at his back / She's Lois Lane but when it's bad, it's awful, I feel so ashamed…"_

"Guys! Will you quit it?!" Raven screamed, deciding to take matters into her own hands. She felt her eyes glow with dark energy and anger. Outside, lightning flared and thunder boomed. "This is pathetic!"

Cyborg gaped at Raven. "Hey, he started it!"

"No, you started it, robo-boy!" Beast Boy screamed, pointing his finger at Cyborg. "Tell him, Raven!"

"Robin, could you turn that down and do something? You're supposed to be the leader!" Raven yelled to Robin, who blatantly ignored her.

"No, I'm the one who's right! Raven agrees!"

"No she doesn't!"

Raven groaned in frustration. "I don't think either of you are right!" she screamed, struggling to keep control her powers. "I think you're both acting like babies!"

_"You ever love somebody so much, you could barely breathe when you with 'em? / You meet, and neither one of you even know it hit 'em…"_

Everyone in the Ops room was at a loss for words, the only noise being Robin's music. Robin shut it off when the rapper began to spew some sensitive verses, and he tensed up. Finally, Beast Boy broke the silence by pouting and voicing everyone's thoughts. "I wish Starfire were here."

But Raven, who had grown so irritated and furious that she couldn't control her powers or emotions, sighed exasperatedly. "Well she's not! She's not here! Deal with it! I'm sick of hearing you all complain about her, I'm sick of all this fighting, and I'm sick of _all of you!"_ A surge of dark energy caused the lights in the Ops room to flicker on and off, and Raven teleported to her bedroom.

"Stupid Starfire… Stupid friends…" she muttered as she leaned against the door. Against her better judgement, she went over to her dresser and picked up her mirror. "If it weren't for Starfire, we wouldn't even be in this mess."

Raven let out a loud, aggravated scream. She didn't care if she broke any windows or startled the boys in the Ops room. She just needed a release, to let out all this negative energy and anxiety within her. "I wish I never met any of you!"

Too late for her to take her words back, Raven's mirror began to glow with dark energy, her other personalities swirling around inside of it anxiously, and before she could stop it, she was overwhelmed by the darkness that rose out of the mirror and enveloped everything in the room. Fatigue and stress overcame Raven, and she found herself slipping into unconsciousness.

* * *

When the darkness faded into light, Raven opened her eyes and gasped in shock at her surroundings. Red sky streaked with grey clouds loomed above her, and she realized that she lay on barren, dry ground. Raven gasped as she looked up and found that she was alone on Titans Island, but became even more frightened and confused when she saw the giant, ominous form of Trigon the Terrible leaning on the Tower. Then, to her horror, she realized that the structure Trigon used as a throne was not Titans Tower, but the hologram-transmitter that the Gordanians left on the island to warn Jump City not to aid their escaped prisoner.

"This can't be real…" She looked across the water — or what used to be water, but was now lava — to find any signs of life on the mainland, but all she found were the petrified citizens of Jump City panicked and terrified, frozen in time as they desperately tried to escape. Thunder and lightning boomed in the sky, and fire demons whizzed past her, not seeming to notice her presence.

"No…" She took out her T-Communicator and called for help. "Raven calling anyone! Raven calling anyone! Robin! Cyborg! Beast Boy! Starfire! _Anyone!"_ Finally realizing that she was truly alone this time, Raven dropped to her knees. "This can't be real…"

"I'm afraid that it is true, my child," a familiar, soothing voice said from behind her. Lightning flash as Raven turned around and found that her mother, glowing and translucent, stood over her sorrowfully.

Raven rose to her feet and almost hugged her mother, but froze when she saw the look on her face. "Arella… this can't be real! I defeated Trigon! Azarath was restored and you're supposed to be alive! Where's Titans Tower? Where are my friends?"

Arella shook her head despairingly. "You never defeated Trigon, and you never met your friends. When you became the portal and summoned Trigon to Earth, you were destroyed. Raven, you no longer exist in this world. I am here to take you somewhere safer, where you will be reunited with the monks of Azarath." She extended her hand to her daughter, who backed away in horror.

"No… How… Mother, how did this even happen?"

Arella removed Raven's mirror from her sleeve and held it out to her, letting her gaze at her reflection. "You were angry and upset. When you wished that you had never met your friends, you released vast amounts of dark energy and unwittingly cast a spell. Your wish was granted."

Raven's heart sunk, and she felt tears brimming her eyes. "No… There has to be a way to fix this! My friends can help me, we have to find them! Where are they? You have to help me find them!"

"Very well," Arella replied, as calm and quiet as ever. "But I must warn you, what you are asking to see will fill you with fear and heartbreak." She raised her arms, and the environment blurred and swirled around them.

Arella and Raven were suddenly inside an old, crumbling warehouse. Raven blinked and looked around, then gasped. Near a decaying window, the stone form of Cyborg wearing his track suit leaned hopelessly over his power generator. His face was concealed by his hood and he was attached to the generator by large cords.

"Cyborg…" she whispered sadly, grazing his stone shoulder. Visions flashed before her eyes of an embarrassed and ashamed Cyborg hiding in the streets, begging for money, being spit on by bratty teenagers, cowering in the warehouse where they stood. All alone. She let go of his shoulder, and found herself breathing heavily.

"I'm sure you know that before the Teen Titans were founded, Cyborg had just recovered from a deadly car accident where he lost his mother," Arella explained. "His father fitted him with cybernetics to save his life, but he had never expected that his son would be shunned and feared by his friends and family. He was embarrassed and frustrated, and he ran away from home, taking to the streets of Jump City. The Titans were the only ones who accepted him for who he was and how he looked. Without them…"

"He thought he was a monster," Raven finished. "He had nobody." She clamped her eyes shut and forced back tears. "What about Beast Boy?"

The scene changed to an alley, where the stone form of Beast Boy in his tattered Doom Patrol uniform rummaged through a dumpster, unaware that the world was ending.

"Beast Boy was orphaned at a very young age, I'm sure you've heard his story," Arella said quietly. "When he left the Doom Patrol, he left behind the only people that had taken him in and accepted him. In this reality, he had tried to fight crime on his own, but as you know, Beast Boy is strongest when he's working with a team. He lived alone on the streets, using his abilities to hide from people rather than helping them."

Raven crouched down to touch her friend's back, saddened at his condition. She touched his shoulder, and sure enough, visions of a lonely and lost Beast Boy flashed before her eyes. His first failed attempt at stopping a bank robbery, begging for money, sleeping in the form of a dog in the darkest corners of questionable alleys, being kicked around… Raven jerked her hand away and felt her heart breaking. She'd done this to her friends… her selfish wish had taken away the best thing that had ever happened to them.

But what of Robin? He was stronger and more determined than the rest of them. Maybe he was all right. _Hopefully_ he was all right.

"Have you seen enough?" Arella asked, pulling Raven out of her thoughts. "Are you ready to go?"

The empath shook her head furiously. "No. Where's Robin? Maybe I can free him… He can help me undo this. He'll know what to do."

With a downcast gaze, Arella changed the scene to an underground, high-tech hideout, where a lone figure stood over the panels and watched the screen intently. "That's not Robin…"

Arella shook her head. "Robin is the one who is willing to work with others. Nightwing only works alone." She beckoned for her daughter see him for herself, so Raven cautiously walked up to the stone form of Nightwing. In his gloved hands, he held Slade's mask and was staring at it intently, just like the Robin she knew. With hope in her heart, she touched his shoulder, but the hope dissipated as soon as it arrived. In her visions, Raven saw Robin take on a bank robber by himself, and when she saw the streak of green light flash across the sky, she knew instantly it was the day that they had all met. Then she saw a vision of him retreating back into the shadows, and Raven saw him design his Nightwing costume. Then visions of him mercilessly fighting crime and running away from the police played, and even in this reality, Robin — as Nightwing — was still obsessed with Slade to the point of madness.

Raven jerked her hand away and looked around the room. Newspaper clippings of Slade and various criminals covered the wall, and on one wall, a "wanted" poster featuring Nightwing stood out, with bird-a-rangs sticking out of it.

"He became a vigilante, not a hero…" Raven said. "His obsession with Slade must have driven him mad without us — without Starfire to shed light in his world." Then her eyes widened, and she whirled around to face Arella. "Mother, where's Starfire? If she crash-landed on Earth —"

"She is not here," Arella interrupted, her voice melancholy. "The Teen Titans were never formed because Starfire never succeeded in escaping from her captors." She raised her arms and brought Raven inside what appeared to be a dark and gloomy palace. "Remember, you do not exist. If you attempt to help Starfire, she cannot hear you or see you."

Citadelians roamed about, shouting in their alien language. Arella waved her hand and allowed Raven to understand their dialogue. The largest Citadelian, an ape-like creature who sat upon a silver, spiky throne, yelled, "Bring me my prize!"

Trumpets sounded, and the doors to the throne room burst open. Four Gordanians clad in armour held two sets of chains. "Exalted One, we bring you the most beautiful specimen of our collection, and in return, we ask only for your protection from our enemies." Two of the Gordanians moved to the side, and Raven drew in her breath at the sight of their "specimen." "We bring you the beautiful Princess Koriand'r of Tamaran!"

Between the two Gordanians, Starfire stood crestfallen in chains, wearing a white sleeveless top baring her midriff, a long white skirt with open slits along her legs, golden sandals, and a golden diadem band around her head. Her eyes were glowing green, but her expression was defeated and hopeless, and her hands were cuffed with the same restraints that she'd had when she crashed on Earth.

"Starfire…" Raven muttered, reaching desperately towards her friend. She didn't deserve this. None of her friends did.

The leader of the Citadel stood up from his throne and strode towards the Gordanians and Starfire, towering over them at ten feet. He circled the chained alien like a vulture, studying her form carefully and intently with an evil grin on his face. Starfire stood tall and rigid, staring straight ahead and feigning apathy, but beads of sweat rolled down from her forehead.

"She tried to escape, Your Mightiness," one of the Gordanians explained nervously. "But we recaptured her on the planet Earth. No citizen dared to come to her aid."

"Except one," another Gordanian added after hesitating. "A male human wearing a mask and a blue uniform." Nightwing. He must have tried to help her, but without the others, he was outnumbered and overpowered. "We easily defeated him."

The Citadelian leader nodded approvingly, then lifted his paw and put a finger underneath her chin so that she could meet his eyes. "Welcome, Troq," he boomed, leering down at her. The starbolts in Starfire's eyes dimmed briefly, but she held her ground. "I trust your journey was efficient and… pleasant." The Gordanians snickered, and a chill ran through Raven's spine when she finally noticed the bruises on her friend's arms and legs. The Citadelian leader turned to the Gordanians and nodded in approval. "Congratulations, Lord Trogaar. You did not fail me. You are permitted to live another day." He ran his finger around Starfire's face, and she cursed him in Tamaranean. Raven winced as the creature slapped her friend across the face. "A feisty one, I see. Bring her to my chambers. I wish to teach this Troq a lesson in respect."

Starfire's eyes dimmed and widened in terror, and she began screaming helplessly, thrashing her cuffed arms and struggling to free herself as the Gordanians effortlessly escorted her out of the throne room.

"NO!" Raven cried, and she ran towards Starfire in hopes of aiding her friend. But the Gordanians continued to walk away, and the throne room faded. The walls of the palace melted to reveal a red sky, and Raven and Arella were back on Titans Island.

"It is time to go, Raven," Arella whispered, putting a comforting hand on Raven's shoulder.

"This is all my fault," she thought out loud. "If I hadn't made that wish, Cyborg wouldn't be ashamed of himself, Beast Boy wouldn't be so scared of the world, Robin wouldn't have ended up all alone, and Starfire would have brought us all together…" Raven wiped her tears away and planted her feet firmly on the ground as she shook her mother's hand off her shoulder.

"I'm not going with you," Raven said with determination, her eyes glowing with dark energy. "I have to fix this. I have to make things right, I have to get my friends back." She assumed the lotus position and began to meditate. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos… Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos… Azarath —"

"Raven," Arella said. Raven opened her eyes to look at her mother, who had a proud smile on her face. She placed Raven's mirror into her hands and nodded approvingly. "I know you can, my child. You forever have the love of your people, and you have made us so proud." She caressed Raven's cheek and smiled, then disappeared.

Tears threatened to spill out of Raven's eyes as she stared out at the empty space her mother left behind. Then she picked up the mirror and held it to her face, thinking of every fond memory of her friends. Playing chess with Cyborg, exchanging pennies with Beast Boy, meditating with Starfire, talking with Robin, eating pizza in the Tower, laughing at each other's silly stories…

Inside the mirror, Raven's other personalities stirred excitedly, and she began to cast her spell. "I wish everything was back to the way it was. Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" Raven's head jerked upward at the force of the spell, and she could feel her soul-self rising out of her and spreading across the Earth until all life returned to normal, and when it was done, she collapsed from exhaustion.

* * *

With a pounding head, Raven opened her eyes and blinked repeatedly. "Did it work?" she asked herself aloud. Slowly, she got up from the floor and let her eyes readjust to her surroundings. To her delight, she was back in her own bedroom, her mirror on the floor beside her.

"I'm back at the Tower!" she cried happily, and she placed her mirror back on her dresser. But just to be certain that her friends were all right, Raven ran to the Ops room excitedly.

The doors to the Ops room burst open, and Raven floated through to find the boys in the exact same places as she'd left them. All eyes turned to her.

"That was quick," Beast Boy said, confused. "You okay?"

Robin shut off his music, Beast Boy put down his video game, and Cyborg shut off the TV as they gaped at their friend. "Raven, you're smiling… What happened? Just a few minutes ago, you were screaming at us," Robin observed. "Not that we can blame you. We were all acting like idiots."

"No, I'm the one who's sorry," Raven said. "I couldn't control my frustration and annoyance and I lashed out on all of you."

Cyborg shrugged. "It's all right, Rae. I don't blame you. I know it's almost that time of year."

The two other boys' jaws dropped in shock, and Raven blushed. "How did you know? I didn't even realize…" As she pondered Cyborg's idea, she knew it made complete sense. It explained why she was so on edge and short-tempered that day.

"C'mon, Rae, I've lived with you two girls for years now! You pick up a few things after a while. Starfire's comes twice a year for two days and she gets all mood-swingy. Since you're only half-human, yours comes once every three months for four days, and the day before it starts, you get cranky and irritable, and then for the next four days you get weird cravings." Cyborg then smiled at his friend reassuringly.

"I've noticed that too, but I never thought much of it until now…" Robin said after clearing his throat. "Now, want to explain to us why you're all of a sudden in a good mood?"

"Come on, I'll tell you," she replied, and she took a seat on the couch with the boys to tell her story, not leaving out a single detail. The boys listened in silence, all shocked to hear of what became of them in that alternate reality.

"Whoa…" Cyborg breathed.

Robin blinked in surprise. "That's… crazy… But, now that I think about it, it would have been very possible."

"Yeah, I guess it's a good thing that Blackfire sold Starfire as a slave to the Gordanians," Beast Boy joked nervously. "In a way, Blackfire's responsible for the Teen Titans. If it weren't for Starfire, none of us would've met and become friends." Then he braced himself for Raven's customary "Beast Boy that was a terrible joke" slap in the head. But to his astonishment, his friends nodded in agreement and smiled.

"You know, it's weird," Cyborg said. "I never really believed in destiny and stuff, but hearing that, it's like… it's like everything that's ever happened was meant to happen."

Beast Boy grinned wider. "Yeah! Like our lives were all separate stories at one point and then out of nowhere some writer decides to throw us all together to see if it would work, and then everything ended up workin' out in the end — ow!" This time, Raven did slap him in the head.

"I've always believed in destiny," Raven said. "I was destined to be Trigon's portal and bring the End of the World, and I did. But no one ever prophesied that I'd defeat him and restore life to Earth. And I guess I never would have thought it was possible until I met all of you."

"I admit, I would probably go mad without you guys. I mean, you get on my nerves sometimes, but you're still my family. You keep me level-headed. I can't do this alone," Robin admitted, bashfully looking down at the floor. "And I'm sorry I've been pushing you guys away lately." He looked up at his friends and smiled apologetically. "I just… I really miss Starfire. She's my best friend, and she brings light to my world, you know?"

"We know," Cyborg replied, smirking and ruffling his friend's spiky hair. "We miss her too. I guess when she's not around, there's nobody to calm us down when me and BB are having another one of our stupid fights and we all get kinda crazy. But we're always here for you."

"Yeah, you always have us," Beast Boy added. "Even when Star's not around!"

As if on cue, the doors to the Main Ops room slid open to reveal an exhausted and drenched Starfire with her backpack hanging off of one shoulder. Then her eyes lit up at the sight of her friends staring at her.

"STARFIRE!" the Titans cried happily, and the boys and Silkie raced over to embrace the alien princess. Beast Boy kept nudging Robin out of the way, so Robin whacked his friend with his bo staff and ran faster, only to be tripped by Cyborg. Cyborg then held his arms open to tackle his alien friend with a hug, but Beast Boy morphed into a snake and tripped him, and in no time, all the boys were too preoccupied with their fight to remember why they were racing in the first place. Not surprisingly, Silkie was the first to greet the alien princess, who scooped him up into her arms and cuddled with him.

"Silkie! My little bumgorf!" she gushed, softly petting the resident pet. "I am sorry I was not the one to feed you your breakfast this morning!"

Raven rose up from a portal in the floor in front of her friend and smiled at her. "Looks like I win." Then she threw her arms around the alien princess and hugged her briefly, containing most of her joy to see her friend inside of her.

"Raven, that was most surprising!" Starfire cried, giggling. "You have never before initiated an embrace with me!"

The empath shrugged, smirking. "We were all worried about you. Next time, tell us first before you run off to investigate on an alien planet."

From their spot on the floor just a foot away from Starfire, the boys froze and hastily got up, then engulfed both Silkie and Starfire in a group hug, while Raven dodged them and looked on smiling. Everything was as it should be. Lesson learned and taken to heart: Appreciate what you have while you have it.

"Star!"

"We missed you!"

"I came up with a new joke while you were gone, wanna hear?"

Starfire giggled. "Friends, I apologize for not informing anyone of my departure, but I felt that if I told you, you would discourage me from my search." The boys finally released her, and she gave each of them a rib-cracking hug. Then she took Robin's hands in hers and said, "I am sorry I did not tell you. I was afraid that you would follow after me, and I could not let you do so."

Smiling, Robin kissed her, prompting Beast Boy to shout, "Get a room!" Silkie jumped out of Starfire's arms and into Beast Boy's, and Cyborg clamped his friend's mouth shut and dragged him back to the living room to give the couple some space.

"It's all right, Star. I'm not mad," he said after separating from her. "How'd it go?" He laced his fingers in hers and walked to the couch, with Raven following behind. He then took off his cape and draped it around his rain soaked girlfriend, who smiled gratefully at him.

"I met with my Nuri friend, Vali-An't, on the desert planet Nuriel in the Edana Star System," Starfire explained, and the Titans gathered around to listen. "He is the youngest prince of the Kingdom of Mahina and the one who found the red-haired boy who crashed into the desert. His family had taken care of the boy, but they never learned his name because he had become afflicted with amnesia and could not remember who he was or where he came from. The boy stayed for only three days, then he disappeared into a midnight sandstorm without a word." She took out a hologram and activated it to project an image of a handsome and tall, tan alien with rippling muscles, cropped black hair, antennae, and blue pupil-less eyes wearing only beige pants, a silver diadem band, and sandals. "Oh, apologies, that is Vali-An't. This hologram belongs to him." She hastily twisted the hologram until it transitioned to a red-orange haired boy who appeared to be thirteen in Earth years, wearing a white short-sleeved shirt, white shorts, black boots, and a metal neck plate with a green gem in the centre. "_That_ is the boy who crash-landed on Nuriel and whom I believe to be Wildfire."

Robin did a double take, and felt the blood drain from his face. "Uh… Star? This… Vali-An't speaks… English… right?" The other Titans burst into laughter and anxiously awaited Starfire's answer.

Innocent little Starfire shook her head, oblivious, or perhaps provoking his jealousy. "No, he speaks only Nuri. Val is the youngest of the princes of Mahina, and I met him on one of my family's royal intergalactic tours."

The Teen Wonder's face burned with jealousy, and even Raven couldn't help but sarcastically remark, "That's a nice new shade of jealousy on you, Robin. I don't think I've seen you this red since Tokyo."

This caused Starfire to giggle briefly. "Oh, dear Robin, you have no reason to be jealous. I never cared for Val in the same way as he cared for me." She cleared her throat, and Robin smiled sheepishly, gesturing for her to continue on with her story. "Be that as it may, the boy demonstrated no Tamaranean abilities. They do not know how he ended up on their planet, but I believe that — if he were indeed Wildfire — he may have been flying to Tamaran and gotten himself lost. My baby brother never did have much of a sense of direction."

"So, is that why you left without telling us? To get this hologram?" Beast Boy asked, poking at the holographic image of the amnesic boy to make it go fuzzy and distorted.

Starfire nodded. "I also investigated the crater he left in the desert. He left a distinct impression in the sand that gave away his crash-landing pattern. There were no remains of any kind of ship or parachute, or any kind of device used for flight, which indicates that —"

"Mystery guy can fly!" Cyborg finished, raising his hand for a high five. Starfire eagerly obliged, but hit him too hard and sent him flying off the couch. "Nice arm, Star…"

"So now you just need to track this kid down," Beast Boy added. "How exactly are you gonna do that? And don't say you're leaving again, it's so boring here without you laughin' at my jokes!"

"I do not know," Starfire replied sadly. "Val never saw the boy again, and he did not inform him of his departure beforehand." Starfire sighed, slumping against her boyfriend's shoulder. In turn, Robin put his arms around her and rubbed her back soothingly. "He could be anywhere."

Raven took Starfire's hand and squeezed it gently. "You'll find him, Star. If he's anything like you, he'll be fine. You, on the other hand, need to take a break. Your stress levels are at an all-time high, maybe even at the maximum human capacity, and I don't want to find out much stress a Tamaranean can handle. Now that you're back, how about you and I meditate together?"

"No! I have to tell you a joke first!" Beast Boy cried, falling to his knees in front of his alien friend. Starfire stared at him blankly, so he went on to say, "Why did the tofu cross the road?" Blink. "To prove he wasn't chicken!" The shapeshifter then morphed into a chicken to emphasize the joke, causing Starfire to laugh excitedly while the others groaned at his joke. "See! You're the only one who laughs at them! it's so boring here without you!"

Beneath his mask, Robin rolled his eyes. "How about I take you out on a date? We can go to the fair and I'll win you a prize," he said to Starfire before kissing her cheek. "I've really missed spending time with you these past few days."

"Hold up!" Cyborg shouted. "Starfire's not goin' anywhere! I was planning on having' a barbecue tonight so that we could all have dinner together! I mean, it's been a while since the five of us ate a meal together."

Starfire giggled. "I propose we have Cyborg's delicious dinner first, then I shall meditate with Raven, then play the video games with Cyborg and Beast Boy, and then go to the fair with my m'halkita. Does that sound reasonable?" Beside her, Silkie made a noise of disapproval. "Of course you may come to the fair with us, my little bumgorf! Robin will not mind, yes?" She batted her eyelashes at her boyfriend playfully, making the others laugh at Robin's strangled expression.

"Of course," he replied hesitantly. "I'm sure the city won't mind a mutant larva-worm walking around the fair with us…"

"Well, _all right!"_ Cyborg cheered. "Who wants to help me make dinner?"

Beast Boy jumped up with his half-robot friend. "I do! Someone has to make sure you leave me a vegetarian option!"

"There _is_ a vegetarian option: water!"

The three remaining Titans laughed as the two boys bickered on their way to the kitchen. With Starfire's positive energy balancing the room again, Raven was calmer and in control of her emotions once again. 'Maybe Beast Boy's right,' the empath thought to herself. 'While I hate Blackfire for how she's treated Starfire, if it weren't for her, the Teen Titans wouldn't have been founded and we wouldn't have each other.'

Robin cleared his throat. "So I think _World of Fungus_ is on TV right now. Are you in the mood to watch it, Star?" No response. Starfire simply toyed with the hologram, grazing the image of the boy. "You'll find him, Star. I know it."

"Don't worry too much," Raven said comfortingly. "He'll be all right."

Starfire shut off the hologram, snuggled into Robin's arm, and squeezed Raven's hand gently. "I can only hope."

* * *

"I'm so _bored!"_ Blackfire groaned as she carved Komand'r, her Tamaranean name, into the walls of the hideout for the fifth time. "How do you manage to go days without doing anything _fun?"_

From his chair, Deathstroke rolled his eyes beneath his mask. "Years of experience, child. I've been in this _business _longer than you have." He got up from his seat and walked up to the exiled alien princess, putting a hand on her shoulder and forcing her to face him. "Though I must say, you show adequate signs of potential, my dear. Treason, selling your sister into slavery, blackmailing her, sending a shapeshifter to pose as your long-lost brother… the list of offences only continues to grow. Tell me, princess…" Deathstroke put a finger under her chin and made her look up at him. "What kindled this fire within you?"

"Nice pun," Blackfire scoffed. She shook herself free of his hold and glared. "Father and Mother always favoured Starfire and Wildfire. They got all the best toys, the best clothes, the most attention, and they always got their way, even though I was the best at everything. I was the smartest. I had the most friends. I was the most talented! But everyone liked Starfire better than me. I still don't know why." The exiled alien princess swiped away the single tear that fell from her eye and cursed herself in Tamaranean.

"And then Father named Wildfire as first in line for the throne, when it should have been me! I was their firstborn child! I should have been the crown princess!" Her eyes were aglow with blackbolts, and she threw one at the wall, hoping to scare Deathstroke. But her partner didn't even flinch; he merely observed her intently. "But Father and Mother got what they deserved. They all did." A wicked smirk spread on her face, and she snickered. "And soon, sister dear and baby brother will, too."

"Out for blood by reason of unresolved childhood anger," Deathstroke remarked, rubbing his chin between his fingers. "Interesting."

Blackfire grinned teasingly, and playfully swatted Deathstroke's shoulder. "You make me sound like a head case." The telecommunicator beeped, and Blackfire anxiously flew over to answer it.

"I take it this is the call you've been waiting for?" he commented amusedly, before appearing beside Blackfire to witness the call. Hopefully those dreadful bounty hunters had finally succeeded in finding her long-lost brother so that he would be free of her childish complaints and restlessness.

Blackfire simply leered at him, and angrily answered the telecommunicator. "This better be good, Lobo. I'm not exactly in a good mood today, no thanks to _him_." She jerked her head in the direction of Deathstroke, who merely observed the bounty hunter on the screen with apathy.

The Czarnian bounty hunter cackled loudly. His grey body took up most of the screen, clad in nothing but a black vest, black pants held up by a belt with a skull buckle, black boots, fingerless gloves, and kneepads. Lobo was the leader of the universe's only Czarnian bounty hunters and was the last true Czarnian, the rest of his group being unsuccessful clones of himself. Rumour has it that he was the one who killed everyone on his planet, and he carried himself with the attitude of an Earth biker. "Jeez, princess! Is it that time of month already?" Blackfire glared daggers at Lobo, who raised his hands defensively. "Well then, good news, princess! We found the Troq!" He winced when Blackfire's eyes glowed with blackbolts. "Er, sorry yer highness. We tracked down the _Tamaranean kid_. Looks like he's on his way to Neoma."

"Neoma? I should have known," she muttered. "It's the last place in the galaxy a Gordanian would search. Very clever, Myrand'r." Beneath his tattoos, Lobo raised an eyebrow. "Well, go on!"

"I sent three of my guys after him to tire him out," Lobo said, cracking his knuckles. "After I'm through here wit' you, I'll go after him myself and drag him to ya personally." His red eyes glimmered devilishly, and he shook his long black mane.

"Excellent," Blackfire purred. "Bring him to me ASAP at the meeting point. I'm anxious to… _catch up_ with my dear baby brother."

* * *

_Author's Notes:_

_1) Yup, Robin's still in the dark about the connection between Slade and Deathstroke. Dun dun DUN!_

_2) If you hadn't already guessed it by now, the song that Robin was listening to was "Love the Way You Lie" by Rihanna and Eminem. I saw a RobStar fanvid on YouTube the other day that used this song and I thought it fit their relationship really well, especially during "Masks," "Apprentice Part I & II," and "Haunted." Go check it out if you haven't already seen it! It's amazing! [Disclaimer: I also don't own the lyrics to that song]_

_3) We don't know the full extent of what Raven's mirror can do besides store her other personalities. For the sake of this story, let's pretend that since it's a magical artefact, it has the potential to do anything she wants it to do._

_4) Does it make sense now? Haha, it was that time of month for Raven! Sorry, I had to!_

_5) I always loved it when the Teen Titans broke the fourth wall, so I decided to have Beast Boy do it!_

_6) Just to clarify, the Czarnian Bounty Hunter that Blackfire spoke with in the last episode was not Lobo, but one of his clones. I did that to create suspense, not confusion, so apologies! The one in this episode is indeed Lobo, based on his appearance in Young Justice. For the sake of my story, let's pretend that Lobo had unsuccessful Czarnian clones that he could easily get rid of when he didn't need them._

_Another cliffhanger! I know, cliffhangers are annoying, but they're fun too! What will become of the amnesiac boy? Stick around for the next installment, and I hope you enjoyed this one!_

_Please r & r, and no flames!_

_Maribel ∞_


	5. Episode 4 - Reunited

_A/N: Hello again! __I'm so sorry that this one took so long to put up, camp has been super crazy and there are nights I go out with my friends and neglect putting this up. But thank you all so much for your patience and your wonderful reviews! Your reviews help keep this fanfiction going when I feel like giving up or when writer's block creeps up on me, so thank you so much!_

___Without further ado, on with the show!_

_Summary: Political tensions continue to rise in Tamaran, and as a last resort, Starfire is called back to aid her home planet and forced to make a difficult choice._

_Disclaimer: I wish I did but I don't own anything!_

* * *

_Season Six, Episode Four: Reunited_

Across the galaxy, a red-haired boy flew for his life as armed men shot at him on hovercycles. The biggest of the group was a pale, hostile-looking man with a black vest, black jeans, boots, and a skull belt buckle, and he threw his taser-whip at him.

"Get the kid!" he commanded to the smaller men, who were skinnier and less-sinister versions of him. Slews of laser beams shot at the boy, and he dodged them easily.

For whatever reason, it seemed that these men were eager to capture him. The boy didn't understand why, especially since he couldn't remember who he was or how he was able to fly and shoot blue bolts of light out of his hands. His only clue was the green jewel on his metal collar, which was the only constant thing he'd worn since crash-landing on Nuriel. When he pressed it, it projected a hologram of a white and red planet (which he learned from another alien on Neoma that it was called Tamaran) and a toddler version of him with people he assumed were his family. He had to get to them in order to find out who he was.

If he could find them, that is. Though he couldn't remember who he was, he knew that he had a terrible sense of direction.

"AHH!" he screamed as he narrowly missed an asteroid that had appeared in his path. He found himself in an asteroid field, and behind him, one of the men crashed into the asteroid he had just dodged. This gave him an idea.

As the three remaining aliens sped up their hovercycles, the boy shot at them with his bluebolts and began zig-zagging through the asteroid field, grazing a few as he did. The two smaller aliens swerved to avoid a big asteroid and accidentally swerved right into each other. The leader, who simply rolled his eyes and growled, pulled a big laser gun from his behind his back and began to fire at him.

"Hold still, kid! I can't collect my pay if I don't get ya!"

Bounty hunters. Figures. He was either worth something or a criminal, he concluded, if someone sent bounty hunters after him. "Come and get me, then!"

Through the last of the asteroids, the boy spotted another solar system, the first planet being spotted blue and pink, the next being a white planet with pink streaks. Tamaran. He was getting closer, but this alien was still on his tail.

A large asteroid appeared in his path, and the boy sped up towards it. He could feel the bounty hunter closing in on him, a loud beeping noise indicating that he'd turned up the charge on his laser gun.

"I've got ya now —"

In the blink of an eye, the boy swerved upwards from the side of the asteroid, and it was too late for the bounty hunter to change directions. He and his hovercycle crashed into the asteroid, and the boy waited a few minutes to make sure that he was finally defeated. When the smoke cleared, the bounty hunter was crushed underneath his hovercycle and unconscious. Just to be safe, the boy blasted him with a bluebolt, then turned in the direction of Tamaran and took off.

As soon as he entered its atmosphere, the boy was already feeling a sense of familiarity. On the ground below, hundreds of aliens were working in cultivated soils, hurriedly planting shrubs and seeds. Then one of the aliens spotted him and shouted, and armed warriors appeared. The boy gasped, and spotted a city nearby. If he could get there —

Suddenly, a laser hit his side while he was distracted and he lost control of his flight. The planet's gravity pulled him to the ground far below, and he braced himself for the heavy impact.

After what seemed like an eternity, the boy crashed into the desert-like grounds of the planet and created a large crater. He groaned in pain and assessed himself to see if he sustained any serious injuries. Miraculously, he was unscathed.

But he had no time to escape, as when he looked up, he found himself surrounded by tall, armoured men, who pointed their sharp weapons and laser guns at him.

"Identify yourself!" one demanded in a tongue the boy somehow understood. Then the guards hushed, parted, and let through a large man with a long red beard, a scar on his right green eye, and a crown on his head. The boy gasped as he recognized the face, and at the same time, the man's eyes widened in shock.

"_It is you_."

* * *

"… and that's what happened to the Earth dinosaurs," Starfire concluded, smiling brightly. Robin kissed her forehead sweetly and smiled at his girlfriend.

The Titans sat at their usual table on the pizza-shaped balcony of the Pizza Corner sharing two extra-large boxes of pizza, one Hawaiian and one vegetarian. Robin sat with his arm around Starfire, Raven was eating her Hawaiian pizza and trying to ignore the two boys bickering beside her, and Cyborg and Beast Boy were having their usual meat-related argument.

"That's _fascinating,_ Starfire," Raven said sarcastically, inspecting her pizza slice before she bit into it. "But I don't think anyone asked."

Starfire giggled. "On the contrary, friend Raven! Beast Boy and Cyborg were arguing about whose powers of the two are stronger, and Beast Boy insisted that his animal shapeshifting abilities were far more powerful than Cyborg's mechanical abilities due to the fact that Beast Boy can shapeshift into dinosaurs, and then Cyborg argued that the dinosaurs went extinct because they had reached the end of their evolutionary process and could not evolve into a higher form. Beast Boy claimed that the dinosaurs went extinct because of an asteroid colliding into Earth, therefore, I decided to settle their disagreement by informing them of the true reason why the dinosaurs became extinct."

The two boys pouted and ate their pizzas in silence, until Beast Boy muttered, "I still think my powers are better than yours." This triggered another argument, and Raven finally decided to shut the two up with a spell.

Robin and Starfire laughed. "So what do you guys want to do when we're done here? It's a nice day and I'd hate to waste it by staying inside." Before Starfire could protest, Robin added, "I know you still need to find your brother, but you could really use a break, Star. You've been working yourself too hard, and I really miss spending time with you." He took his girlfriend's hand and held onto it tightly.

After breaking free of Raven's dark energy gag, Cyborg said, "Hey! There's a FoodFest goin' on downtown with all kinds of crazy food from around the world!" He wagged his eyebrows playfully at his alien friend. "You know you wanna go, Star!"

"That does sound most enjoyable!" Starfire cried, nodding excitedly. "Perhaps I could use a break."

Nobody needed to ask Robin if he was going. Of course he'd go just to spend time with Starfire. "All right! Raven, Beast Boy, you guys coming?" Robin asked.

Beast Boy morphed into a hippo and broke free of Raven's dark energy gag, then morphed back into a human. "As long as there's vegetarian options, I'm there!"

The Titans all turned to Raven hopefully. "Greasy people serving questionable food items? Oh, the joy," she droned sarcastically.

"C'mon, Rae!" Cyborg cried, putting an arm around her shoulders. "I bet there's people from Belgium, and I know you can't resist a Belgian waffle drizzled with Belgian chocolate! You're the one who said that you love waffles more than life itself!"

The thought of chocolate-drizzled Belgian waffles almost made Raven's mouth salivate. "Oh, all right. But just for the waffles."

"Awesome!"

"Glorious!"

"Booyah!"

"Yes!"

Just then, Robin's T-Communicator started beeping, and Beast Boy groaned. "Aww, man! So much for tofu corn dogs!"

"Trouble?" Cyborg asked, silently hoping that it was just some of the other Titans calling to say hello.

Robin opened his T-Communicator and peered at the screen. "No, it's an intergalactic call. Robin here."

Upon seeing the face on the screen, Starfire gasped. "Galfore!" The Titans all greeted the intimidating former nanny warily. It seemed that every time Starfire received a call from her home planet, trouble would befall them and a new royal family crisis would be revealed.

The Grand Ruler of Tamaran smiled joyfully. "X'hal, Princess Starfire. Teen Titans. I bear wonderful news!"

The Titans breathed a sigh of relief. Starfire's heart began to beat rapidly with hope and anticipation, and she squeezed Robin's hand. "What is it, k'norfka?"

"Just last night at moonrise, the villagers were working in their fields, planting zorkaberries and truffula trees. Then they spotted a blue light streaking across the sky before it crashed into the desert plains. I immediately went to investigate with the army, and found that it was not an enemy missile or downed ship."

"What was it, Galfore? Oh, please spare me the suspense!" Starfire cried, squeezing Robin's hand even tighter. The Teen Wonder found himself sinking to the floor gasping in pain, and he was almost certain that he'd end up with a broken hand.

Galfore's face lit up with a bright smile much unlike him. "At long last, Prince Wildfire has returned home!"

The Teen Titans clutched their ears desperately as the alien princess screeched excitedly and soared into the air, still on the phone with her k'norfka. The other customers of Pizza Corner all ducked under the tables covering their ears. Apparently Tamaraneans could scream at higher, more painful frequencies than most humans, because all windows in a five-mile radius shattered and Beast Boy — who had the most sensitive ears of the group — thought his ears were bleeding.

After what seemed like hours — but in reality was merely seconds — Starfire stopped screaming and continued to fly excitedly in the air, making loops and dips and figure-eights as she did so.

"I don't think I've ever seen her this… jubilant," Raven commented, smirking.

"WHAT?" Beast Boy yelled, rubbing his pinky in his ear. "AW DUDE I THINK I'VE GONE DEAF!"

"And now you're making me deaf!" Raven retorted, glaring at the shapeshifter.

Up in the air, Starfire asked Galfore, "Are you certain it is him? How do you know? Does he remember me? May I come see him? Oh Galfore, this is a glorious day!"

Chuckling, Galfore replied, "Yes, we are certain it is him. At first, we thought he was merely another Tamaranean boy, as he could fly without the use of mechanical devices. But his eyes were glowing blue with bluebolts, an ability that only the royal family has ever possessed, as you know. The boy also wore a neck plate, and the gem in the centre was indeed the one your parents had placed on Wildfire the day that they sent him away."

"How are you certain?"

"The gem was designed to project an image of Tamaran and the royal family to remind Wildfire of his origins as a Tamaranean prince," Galfore responded. "Unfortunately, he remembers very little of his past. He had an accident on Nuriel and became afflicted with amnesia. We are doing all we can to restore his memory, but Tamaran continues to grow restless and they are impatient. They demand that one of royal heritage be the one to take the throne and lead the planet."

Starfire's heart sunk. "But I thought that the treaty would bring them peace?"

Galfore sighed. "So did I, my dear bumgorf. But there are some who felt that giving up our warrior culture was too high a price for peace, and a rebellion is on the horizon. They grow ever more suspicious of me, and do not believe that I am a good leader because I do not have the blessing of X'hal. They are anxious for Wildfire to take the throne as the Crown Prince, but he is unsure. Therefore, I am asking for your help once again. I know you do not desire to leave your new home, but if Wildfire sees his beloved older sister —"

"Then he may remember who he is," Starfire finished. Her heart thudded in her chest, and she floated down to the pizzeria's balcony to rejoin her friends, who still smiled at her happily and obliviously. She decided to speak in Tamaranean with the Grand Ruler to prevent her friends from overhearing. "So I must return to Tamaran to help him remember and train him as the royal heir until he is ready to take the throne?"

"I am afraid so." Galfore went quiet, regarding his little bumgorf carefully. Leaving Earth would be an even harder thing for the princess to do than leaving Tamaran, but the Grand Ruler saw no other option. Wildfire needed help in remembering his identity, as well as training to be the next Grand Ruler of Tamaran.

Starfire decided to redirect the subject. "How is he faring at this moment?"

"He is confused, but relatively unharmed. He claims a bounty hunter was pursuing him as he journeyed to Tamaran."

"A bounty hunter? Who could possibly have known…" Wildfire was the Crown Prince of Tamaran and next in line for the throne. When the Gordanians attacked Tamaran and threatened to destroy the royal family and their way of life, Starfire's parents sent Wildfire away to Neoma and claimed that he had died of the same illness that Blackfire had once been stricken with, and Starfire was named second in line after her brother. The cogs and gears turned in the alien princess' head — Robin's detective skills had rubbed off on her — and suddenly she knew who sent the bounty hunter. _"Komand'r."_

"I beg your pardon, my little bumgorf?"

Starfire paused. Blackfire's treachery had already taken their toll on their old and broken hearted k'norfka, a man who'd seen and heard too many terrible things in his lifetime. Telling him that she suspected that Blackfire had sent the bounty hunter to capture their brother would further distress him. "Never you mind, Galfore. When may I see him?"

"Any time you wish, for as long as Wildfire needs you, Your Highness. I must go, I am to show Wildfire some pieces of his past. X'hal, my little bumgorf." With that, Galfore signed off, and Starfire turned back to her friends.

The Titans grinned at her expectantly, and the sight of this made Starfire's heart ache. It was going to be very difficult telling them the news. For now, she decided, she would play along, waiting to see what would happen when they landed on Tamaran. She pasted her usual sunny smile onto her face and prayed that her eyes didn't give her away.

_"Well?"_ Cyborg asked, his smile nearly breaking his face. Beast Boy bit his nails through his gloves, while Raven and Robin watched her cautiously.

"It may truly be Wildfire this time," Starfire replied, still grinning broadly and somewhat meaning it. "Galfore wishes me to see him as soon as possible."

"Aw, man! Does this mean we have to go to Tamaran again?" Beast Boy complained, and Raven thwacked the back of his head. "Ow! You know, I heard somewhere that every blow to the head makes you lose brain cells!"

"Do you even have _any_ left?" Raven muttered, then turned her attention back to her alien friend. "So how did they find him?"

Starfire bit her lip and hesitated. She decided not to tell them the whole story until the time was right. "Wildfire was flying to Tamaran but somehow crashed into a farmland, and the army found him and took Galfore to see him."

"Looks like we're making another trip to Tamaran," Robin said, taking her hands in his. "Are you sure that it's him this time?"

Starfire nodded eagerly. "Oh, yes! This time, Galfore took no chances. Wildfire showed abilities of flight and bluebolts. On Tamaran, only members of the royal family have the ability to project ultraviolet energy into bolts of light. My parents and I had green starbolts, which are the strongest natural bolts of them all. Wilfire's are blue, and Blackfire's are black due to an illness that had stricken her when we were very small. The illness weakened her bolts, but Blackfire trained all her life to be able to use them as powerfully as possible so as not to show her weakness." Confused expressions stared at her. "Apologies, I am deviating from the main subject. The boy who crashed also wore a Tamaranean neck plate with a hologram gem projecting an image of our family and our home planet."

"Yup, definitely him this time," Cyborg added lightly, and he pulled Starfire into a brotherly hug. "How 'bout we leave for Tamaran tomorrow so you can see your baby bro? If it's all right with Robin, of course."

All eyes were on the Titans' leader, who instantly agreed. "Definitely! I'll have to make some calls to the other Titans to see if anyone is available to watch over Jump City while we're gone, just in case. We'll leave tomorrow at daybreak."

"Well it's not like we'll be staying there a while, right?" Beast Boy asked, half jokingly. He silently prayed that their visit would only last a day. Though he loved his friend like the older sister he never had, he had mixed feelings about her home planet. Especially their lack of recognizable and accessible bathrooms.

This time, Starfire nodded slowly and hesitantly. "Of course. I thank you, friends! I cannot wait to see my baby brother again! Now, may we celebrate by attending the Festival of Food?"

"YEAH! FOODFEST! FOODFEST! FOODFEST!" Beast Boy and Cyborg grabbed Starfire by both of her arms and enthusiastically dragged her to the T-Car so that they could all drive down to the festival.

Robin and Raven lingered behind as the others ran off to the T-Car. Something was off, they could both see it in Starfire's eyes. Her best friend and boyfriend knew her better than anyone, and the empath — even as someone she considered a sister — could sense a lie without even trying.

"She's hiding something," Raven stated, her eyes filled with concern for her alien friend.

Robin nodded gravely. "I know. But for now, let's just be happy for her. She needs us."

* * *

The sun began to dip below the city skyline as Starfire stood alone on the rooftop of Titans Tower and watched as traffic began to lessen and citizens headed to their respective homes. After the Titans had their fill of multicultural delicacies at the FoodFest, Starfire packed a week's worth of clothes into a suitcase and secretly stashed it in her T-Ship pod. The Titans turned in to bed early, since they had to launch early the next morning, but the alien princess found that she couldn't sleep and went to the roof collect her thoughts.

Telling her friends the half-truth was a mistake, that Starfire knew. And it was obvious at the FoodFest that Raven and Robin suspected it too. But she hadn't been thinking clearly, and she feared that they would try to talk her out of seeing her brother just in case it wasn't really him again. They'd seen how disappointed and heartbroken she had been when Blackfire sent Madame Rouge to pose as their brother and infiltrate the Tower. They didn't want her to get hurt again. But keeping her safe from disappointment wasn't guaranteed, and sacrifices would always have to be made. Sacrifices which included having to stay on Tamaran for an extended amount of time, should the need arise.

No, Starfire was a big girl who could make her own decisions. She wasn't as stupid and weak as some thought, just more emotional and considerate of others. Finally coming to her senses, Starfire decided that she would tell her friends the whole truth when they left for Tamaran the next day.

Starfire let a tear fall from her eyes watch the setting sun, both dreading and excitedly awaiting the day to come.

"Ya know, you should be in bed, princess," a voice said from behind her. "You've got a big day ahead of you tomorrow." When Starfire turned around to face Cyborg, his friendly and happy expression quickly transitioned into one of concern. "What's wrong, Star?"

"Nothing is wrong," she said with false enthusiasm as she hastily wiped her face dry with her hand. Unfortunately, more tears replaced the ones she wiped away. "I am… I…"

Before she could fall to her knees sobbing, Cyborg immediately pulled her into a comforting embrace, rubbing her back as gently as he could. "Shh, it's all right, you don't need to tell me nothing 'til you're ready. Just let it out." Starfire rested her head on his metal chest and gripped the skin of his arms until the sobbing subsided and she could speak again.

Sniffling, Starfire said, "I am sorry, friend Cyborg. I did not mean to alarm you with my weeping. I am just… anxious for tomorrow." She wiped her face again, but there were still tears streaming out of her eyes.

Cyborg held her at arm's length and took her face in his metal hands, brushing the rest of her tears away as best as he could. "I know. I saw your things in the T-Ship when I was inspecting it ten minutes ago. And by the way, I understood most of what you and Galfore were sayin' on the phone today. You taught me Tamaranean, remember? It may have been stored in the Max-7 chip that we removed, but I remember enough. When were you gonna tell us that you might have to stay for longer?"

"I was going to tell you all tomorrow, when we landed on Tamaran. Oh, Cyborg, I do not know what to do." Starfire clung to his forearms desperately and continued to cry. "My heart is telling me to do one thing, but my mind is telling me that I must do another. I do not wish to leave Earth, but I must help my people and my brother and —"

"Shh, it's all right," Cyborg said as he wiped her tears with his thumb and looked her in the eyes. "I'm not here to tell you what to do. It's your life, but no matter what you decide to do, we'll always be your family. Everything's gonna be okay, I promise." Starfire sniffled and nodded, seeing the sincerity in the eyes of the boy she loved as an older brother. "Good. Now, let's get you to bed, little lady." He held his elbow out for his alien friend — whom he also loved as a little sister — with an exaggerated prim-and-proper posture and grin to make her laugh, and Starfire happily took his arm as he led her back inside, her worries dissolving for the moment.

* * *

"Dudes, are you sure we're on the right planet?"

Beast Boy stared out the window of his pod in wonder and amazement, eagerly watching the ground below. The other native Earthling Titans were at a loss for words, too stunned to roll their eyes at their friend's comment. This did not look like the same Tamaran they had visited only weeks before.

As the T-Ship entered the Tamaranean atmosphere and neared the royal palace, what was once barren and desert land was flourishing with strangely beautiful and colourful shrubs, trees, and plants of all kinds. All kinds of Tamaranean animals had suddenly appeared, with large portkins and flarnops roving about, finorbla flies, and many species of colourful birds occupying the planet. Blue and purple rivers and lakes dotted the lands between the wildlife, and long strips of trees and wheat-like plants led the way to the capital city. Many Tamaraneans waved to the princess as the T-Ship flew over their farmlands, and Starfire couldn't help but sigh sentimentally.

"This is what Tamaran looked like before the Gordanian War!" she cried, clapping her hands happily. "Well, mostly! I can see that my people are still rebuilding the land and their homes. This is only the beginning stage of the Tamaranean flora and fauna."

Raven's eyebrows shot up in surprise. _"That_ is the beginning stage?" She gestured towards the towering trees that slightly resembled the kinds seen in tropical lands on Earth. "You Tamaraneans work fast." She heard Cyborg give a low whistle in agreement.

Starfire giggled. "Indeed!" Then her laughter faded and she stared out the window quietly. "Though the population of Tamaran now is very much smaller than the days of old."

The alien princess still had not told her friends about her predicament, figuring that she'd rather see the circumstances surrounding her brother and the politics of her planet. If they desperately needed her, she would stay, and if they did not, then she would return home to Earth as soon as possible. She silently prayed it would be the latter, though dread continued to flow through her veins as they neared the palace.

Noticing her unusual behaviour, Robin turned his attention away from their flight path and to his left to regard his girlfriend. "It'll be all right, Star. I'm sure your brother is just as excited to see you as you are."

Starfire grimaced. "Actually… Friends, I have a confession to make." She took a deep breath, and all ears awaited the sound of her voice. "I am afraid I did not share the entire truth concerning my brother's sudden appearance yesterday."

Robin's blood grew cold, and dread crept into his skin. "What do you mean?"

"Wildfire indeed crash landed here on Tamaran," the Tamaranean princess explained sadly. "However, on one of his journeys, he had gotten himself lost and he crashed on Nuriel, where Vali-An't found him. Wildfire suffered a concussion and became afflicted with amnesia, and he remembers little of his identity. I am afraid that he does not remember me."

"Star, why didn't you tell us?" Robin asked, his voice giving away his disappointment and sadness.

Starfire fiddled with her fingers and looked out the window, refusing to meet anyone's eyes. "Because if Wildfire does not remember who he is, he needs a member of his family to elicit his memory, no matter how long it may take."

"Does that mean we might have to stay on Tamaran for a while?"

"No, it means that _I_ may have to stay on Tamaran for as long as Wildfire may need me." Tears once again slid out of the princess' eyes as the T-Ship landed on the palace airstrip.

"But Starfire —"

"There is more," she interrupted as the engines shut down. The Titans clambered out of their pods and hurried to their friend's side to hear the rest of her confession. "Galfore has —" Starfire gasped in shock as she laid eyes upon the palace she grew up in, and soon the other Titans followed suit. The walls of the royal palace were vandalized with Tamaranean symbols in red and black paint, and though four out of five of the Titans didn't understand what they said, vandalism on royal property wasn't exactly a good sign. Palace servants were hurriedly and desperately scrubbing the vandalism away, and the atmosphere of the grounds was tense and uneasy.

"What does it say?" Raven asked, grimacing.

With a trembling voice, Starfire read, "Death to Galfore. May X'hal strike him down."

"'Kay, I've heard you and Galfore say _zoll_ a lot, but what does it even mean?" Beast Boy questioned, scratching his head. Raven glared at him for his terrible timing.

"X'hal is our goddess," Starfire explained, not minding one bit. The Titans waited on the airstrip, watching their friend curiously while Galfore and the palace guards made their way over to them. "She created life on our planet, and when her name is used as a greeting, it is a blessing. Generations ago, when life first formed, my people decided that we needed a mortal leader, one to guide the planet in times of trouble. They could not decide who would be able to lead the planet, and soon a civil war erupted. But before too many lives were lost, my ancestor prayed to X'hal for courage and was able to end the war, thus earning the goddess' blessing. X'hal blessed my ancestor And'r — in your tongue he is called Fire — with starbolts, as well as deeming him worthy to rule the planet. The ability to create starbolts is exclusive to the royal family, which is why my parents thought it was necessary to send Wildfire away all those years ago to preserve the royal bloodline."

"And now he has returned," Galfore concluded as he stopped in front of them. Starfire genuflected to her former nanny, and the Titans followed her lead. "Rise, Teen Titans. I welcome you to Tamaran. I see you have become familiar with the unrest of politics that has plagued our people."

Robin was the first to stand, determined to receive answers. "What's going on? I thought the treaty that Starfire and you signed with the Psions would bring peace to Tamaran."

Exhausted and saddened, Galfore sighed. "As did I, young detective. But shortly after you all returned to Earth, a small group of Tamaraneans expressed anger in regards to the treaty, feeling that surrendering our warrior culture was too high a price, much higher than the 'negotiation' Blackfire had arranged by using Starfire, second in line to the throne. They wish to break the treaty and return to our way of life before, and blame me for influencing a blessed one of X'hal to sign the treaty. They do not trust me, and wish to usurp me." The Grand Ruler's shoulders slumped briefly, before he straightened up again. "Nonetheless, that is not the main reason why I called for you, Princess Starfire. Your brother is in the restored palace gardens, and I shall take you and your friends to see him."

In silence and caution, the Teen Titans walked inside the palace with Emperor Galfore, the many royal guards forming a protective stance around them. Beast Boy, Cyborg, and Raven winced as palace servants froze in place to regard them and threw dirty looks in the direction of the Grand Ruler and hopeful expressions at the princess.

"You can cut the tension in here with a butter knife," Cyborg mumbled, eyeing his Tamaranean friend with concern. He'd had his suspicions after somewhat overhearing the conversation between Starfire and Galfore, but never guessed that the situation was this dire. It was strange to see Starfire behave so regal and serious as she greeted her people, but she gave off an air of anxiety and fear.

The Titans were led to a far side of the royal palace, and the massive double doors opened to reveal a lush tropical garden, dotted with flowers of all colours and sizes and towering trees resembling palms. A boy in dark purple Tamaranean clothes and silver boots floated around the garden, then stopped short when he saw the group coming out to see him.

"Your Highness," Galfore greeted in Tamaranean, calling out to the boy. The boy floated down to meet the Grand Ruler, expression mostly confused and disoriented. "I trust that you are enjoying your time in the garden, and I have someone I would like you to meet." He gestured to the guards to move aside, revealing Starfire and the rest of the Teen Titans.

Starfire froze in place. The boy before her was much younger in appearance than Madame Rouge's impersonation, seeming to be thirteen Earth years old, with a cherub face, eyes like hers, red hair a few shades lighter than hers in a short and low ponytail, and about as tall as Robin was when she met him. He wore a traditional purple Tamaranean sleeveless shirt with metal armour in place of sleeves and purple pants, and on his neck he wore a metal plate with the royal green Tamaranean gem in the centre, the very gem that returned him home. The mixture of emotions she was feeling baffled the princess, and she couldn't seem to form words. She stood that way for a long time, fearing that she was dreaming and if she woke up, it would all fade away and prove to be untrue. Her hand stretched out to him, reaching out to touch his face but hesitating to make contact with it.

Wildfire, too, seemed to be at a loss for words, and something in his eyes was registering. The Titans watched anxiously, praying that some part of him remembered his older sister. Then finally, with a tentative voice in Tamaranean, "Beloved sister?"

Bursting into joyous tears, Starfire cried, "Ryand'r!" and rushed to embrace her long lost brother tightly.

"Koriand'r," he breathed, allowing himself to cry as well as he gave into her hold. Galfore felt his heart bursting with happiness and pride, while the Teen Titans fought tears of joy for their friend's reunion with her brother. Even the usually stoic guards seemed to be choking up.

Finally, Starfire let go of her brother. "Beloved baby brother, you remember who I am?" she asked in Tamaranean, clasping her hands together hopefully.

"Koriand'r," he replied, still slightly befuddled. "I remember you vaguely, as if you are a recurring dream. I remember how we used to play, and mother and father… it is all coming back to me in pieces…"

"We have much to catch up on, baby brother!"

Robin hesitated, before coughing to obtain their attention. "Ah, Star? I'm sorry to interrupt, but can you introduce us? We'd love to meet your brother… your _real _brother." He smiled gently to let her know that he was not upset, but happy for her.

"Indeed! I almost forgot!" she cried happily, and she pulled her brother over to meet her friends. In Tamaranean, she said to him, "Ryand'r, these are my friends, the Teen Titans of Earth. We are heroes, and we protect the Earth people from evil forces who wish them harm." She put a hand on Beast Boy's shoulder, beaming proudly. "This is Beast Boy, whom I love as a little brother! He has the ability to change into many different animals."

Beast Boy grinned cockily, oblivious to what Starfire was saying. "Tell him I'm real funny, Star!" The other Titans rolled their eyes.

Giggling, Starfire moved on to Cyborg. "This is Cyborg, my big brother! He is part human, part robot, and he is an excellent cook!" Cyborg saluted to the young prince, saying, "How do you do?"

"This is Robin, the leader of our team and my m'halkita," Starfire said, blushing. Robin, too, blushed as he recognized the word, and Wildfire smiled.

Finally, Starfire moved to Raven. "And lastly, but not the least, this is Raven, who is almost like a sorceress, and she is my big sister."

Wildfire whispered something incoherent into his older sister's ear, which caused Starfire to grimace. "Friends, Wildfire wishes to acquire English, and lip contact does not work with blood relatives. Do any of you wish to volunteer?"

The Titans exchanged looks of awkwardness and unease. Then Beast Boy yelled, "Not it!"

"Not it!" Cyborg and Robin shouted at the same time. All eyes were on Raven, who groaned and rolled her eyes.

"Just get it over with," she muttered, partly to herself and partly to the Tamaranean prince, who did not hesitate as he closed the gap between them and pecked his lips to hers. In the second their lips were connected, Raven suddenly saw Tamaran in flames. She gasped in fear as Wildfire pulled away, apologizing repeatedly in English. Beast Boy's entire face was red, causing Cyborg to laugh hysterically at the two.

Starfire regarded her friend with concern. "Friend Raven, are you all right? I did not mean for Wildfire to defile you, but he had felt very lost and confused when he heard you all speaking English."

Raven shook her head, rubbing her temples. "He didn't defile me. I'm fine, Star. Don't worry." But she couldn't shake the image of Tamaran burning out of her mind, and in that moment, suspicions surrounding the Tamaranean prince arose.

"I apologize, Mistress Raven," Wildfire added. "Your language is most confusing. Now that I have seen my sister, more pieces of my past are returning to me, and Galfore has informed me of our parents' fate and Blackfire's treachery. I never did like our older sister much, it does not surprise me that she would betray our family."

"Where have you been all this time, Wildfire?" Robin asked, stepping beside his girlfriend and taking her hand supportively.

"I spent much of my time travelling space to find Tamaran," Wildfire explained, tugging on his armour. "I remember… I remember being raised on Neoma, a neutral planet that does not participate in the conflicts of other worlds. My guardians were Ka'ren and Gaeor'g, a pacifist couple who reminded me every day of my origins and shared images of my family with me." He paused, gazing at his sister sadly. "I missed you dearly, Kori. I remember hearing of your enslavement to the Gordanians at such a young age, and I wished to find you and help you… I do not remember when I left Neoma, but I do remember searching the galaxy far and wide for the planet in my holo-gem. And now I am here, and it would appear that Tamaran is anxious for me to take the throne."

"Already?" Cyborg asked, bewildered. None of the Titans could believe that the people of Tamaran would rather have a young boy as a king than an experienced, fully grown man. "I know y'all got this religious belief behind royalty goin' on, but you're so young, no offence."

"It is the way of our people, young heroes," Galfore said. "The late Emperor Myrand'r became king at the age equivalent to eleven Earth years, and married at the age of sixteen Earth years. Blackfire was born a year later. Wildfire is of age and more than ready."

Wildfire clenched his fists in frustration. "But I am not ready, Galfore! I barely remember how to use my powers, much less lead a planet! I cannot do it!"

"That is why I am here, to prepare you for the throne that I will leave to you."

At the same time, a messenger urgently flew into the garden, breathing heavily. "Your Majesty! There is a mob of rebels outside of the palace! They are threatening to commence a riot if you do not speak to them and present the prince and princess as your successors."

Galfore's eyes narrowed angrily, and he nodded. "Come, Starfire. I must speak with you in private before we greet our people." He then turned to the native Earthlings. "Guards, escort the prince and the Teen Titans to the balcony. I may require your assistance to calm the crowds, young heroes. You too, young prince."

* * *

Below the balcony of the palace, hundreds of Tamaraneans of all social classes were shouting up at the Grand Ruler, demanding to see the royal heirs to the throne of the planet. Guards surrounded the royal family, forcing the rest of the Teen Titans outside of the protective living barrier. Galfore stood tall and unsmiling as he put up a hand to silence the jeering crowds.

"My fellow Tamaraneans," he said firmly and loudly. "Days ago, our beloved lost prince returned to us with no recollection of his past and identity. Today, he was reunited with his cherished older sister, our very own Princess Koriand'r. This reunion seems to have triggered some of his memories, and rest assured, he will be diligently trained for his duties as the future Grand Ruler of Tamaran." There were mixed reactions from the crowd, some murmuring Galfore's credibility to teach Wildfire about kingly duties when he himself was born a commoner. To that, he added, "Prince Ryand'r will be trained by the royal advisers and a very special, very experienced person that you will find very much familiar. With you, the Teen Titans, and X'hal as my witness, I stand before you today to name Crown Prince Ryand'r, the only son of the late Myrand'r and Luand'r, as my successor."

There was a brief, stunned silence before the entire population of Tamaran burst into jubilant ovation. Starfire reached over and squeezed her brother's hand reassuringly, reminding him that he wasn't alone and had nothing to be worried about. It had been decided, by both her heart and her conscience.

_"I do not know if I am the right choice for Tamaran," he'd said to her earlier as he was fitted for the royal armour that would replace his common garments. Starfire, too, had had to adorn her royal Tamaranean battle armour for the proclamation to present the traditional image of the royal family and their former warrior culture. "I do not remember much of my own past, and I surely do not remember the politics of Tamaran."_

_Starfire gave a small smile as she placed a crown on his head and adjusted it until it stayed in place. "Dear baby brother, search your heart. Do you truly care for Tamaran?"_

_"Without a doubt, I do," he replied without hesitation. "I feel it in my heart, the connection I have to this planet, and I want to see it prosper. But I am not ready, dear sister."_

_"In time you shall be, I promise. I will be here for you whenever you need me."_

In the present, Wildfire stepped forward and floated next to Galfore to give a speech. "My fellow people, it brings me great joy to be back home where I belong. I know in my heart that this is my home, even if I do not remember much of my past. It is partly because I was so young when I left, and partly because of my amnesia, but I will try my hardest to become a worthy emperor for you all. I ask only for your patience and consideration as I do so."

"Hail Ryand'r! Hail X'hal!" they cheered loudly, and Wildfire stepped away from the balcony.

Galfore turned to the Teen Titans and smiled. "I thank you once again for your support, Teen Titans. Starfire speaks very highly of you all in her transmissions and now I see the reason why."

"No need to thank us, Galfore," Robin said, stretching his hand towards Starfire for her to take. She waited a beat before she laced her fingers in his and stood by his side.

"It's what we do," Raven added, shrugging.

"Yeah, Star's our friend! We'll do anything for her," Cyborg said, grinning.

Beast Boy nodded. "Does this mean we can go home now?"

This caused Galfore to laugh for the first time in a while. "Yes, small green one. You may return home, as your services are no longer required here, and I understand that you have duties on earth." He stepped aside and nodded to Starfire, whose smile faded and was replaced by a frown.

Cheering, the Titans turned towards the T-Ship and eagerly ran up to it. Then Robin paused when he didn't feel a certain princess excitedly fly past him like usual. "Starfire? We're going home." He froze and watched her gaze carefully, dreading the answer that he knew would come from her lips. The rest of the Titans watched her too, hoping in their hearts that they were wrong about the look on her face.

"Star?" Beast Boy asked, his pointy ears sagging sadly.

"You are coming home with us, right?" the empath asked, trying to mask the sorrow in her shaky voice.

"Yeah, I mean, aren't you done here? Your brother's back, he's gonna be king, and the planet's at peace," the half-robot added.

Starfire's eyes went downcast, and she took a sudden interest in the ground. "Things are not done here. Wildfire is still recovering from his amnesia and the planet is not at peace. It is merely calm for the moment."

"What are you saying, Star?" Even as he asked the question, Beast Boy already knew the answer.

"I am saying…" She paused to brush away the tears that were falling on her face. " Though my heart belongs on Earth with you all and I do not wish to stay, I must help my people."

Robin grabbed her hand and held it to his heart. "Then we'll stay with you. We can help them, we can train with the army, we can —"

"No, Robin," she interrupted, taking her hand away and caressing his cheek. "Earth needs the Teen Titans."

"And the Teen Titans need you!" Beast Boy cried.

"We're not the Teen Titans without you, Star," Cyborg added.

All this was making it even harder for the Tamaranean princess. "I am touched, friends, but you cannot stay here either. I do not think you understand. Our home planets are very different. My people are warriors and can fend for themselves. It is, how do you say on Earth… 'For himself is every man?' That is our way of life. We have no real heroes here. On Earth, not everyone can protect themselves from bad people. Earth needs its heroes… _you."_

Robin's heart was breaking, and he laced his fingers with Starfire's. "This can't be over… it can't…" Beneath his mask, the Teen Wonder blinked back tears.

"M'halkita, it is not ever over. I will only stay for as long as Tamaran needs me. Once Wildfire is ready to take the throne and things have gone back to normal here I will return home where I belong." She withdrew her hand and forced a sad smile. "I will return home, friends. With X'hal as my witness, I promise." Robin stepped away and allowed the other Titans to say their good-byes first.

Beast Boy morphed into a kitten and jumped into Starfire's open arms. She held him as gently as she possibly could while she embraced him lovingly, and the changeling purred against her neck. "I shall miss you dearly, Beast Boy."

The shapeshifter leapt out of her arms and morphed back into his human form to hug her properly. "I'm gonna miss you too, Star. Who else is gonna eat my tofu bacon and laugh at my jokes?" He grinned as the princess laughed and let go of him. "See? I'm gonna miss that."

Cyborg was next, and Starfire flew up to meet him at eye level. "You better be back soon, little lady. You hear me?" He grinned and took the girl he came to love as a little sister into his arms and didn't mind that she was cutting off his oxygen. For a few seconds, anyway. "Uh, Star?" he croaked, and the princess let go of him.

"I will be home before a Flarnop can eat a Zarnic!" she cried. "Do not ever change, friend Cyborg. I will miss your 'boo-yahs' and your Earth cooking."

"And I'll miss you and your midnight mustard snacking and your weird alien food." He put a finger under her chin and added, "Don't you ever change, either."

Starfire faced Raven, who stood as still and controlled as ever. She was hesitant to hug her, so she said, "Friend Raven, I shall miss you and our 'girl talks' and your strange magical artefacts."

The Titans watched Raven nod and give a small, wavering smile. "I…" Raven froze, and suddenly, she couldn't hold back her emotions anymore. To everyone's shock, the normally emotionless empath let out a sob and pulled her alien friend into a tight embrace. Starfire was surprised at first, but quickly returned the hug and was careful not to crush her ribcage. She felt Raven's hot tears running down her neck and let herself shed a few tears too. Around the two girls, things were exploding and the boys and guards were dodging Raven's dark energy surges.

Finally, Raven pulled away and wiped the rest of her tears with her sleeve. Sniffling, she took Starfire's hands in hers and the two shared a smile. "I can't believe you're leaving me to deal with these idiots alone." The two girls giggled. "I'll miss you. Take care of yourself, okay?"

"I shall miss you too, friend Raven," Starfire said. "And do not hesitate to call me if you ever need someone to talk to." Slowly, Raven let go and stood next to Beast Boy, who flashed her a goofy, teasing grin. Characteristically, she glared at the shapeshifter and smacked him upside the head.

Robin was last and he stood tall and rigid, willing himself to hold back his tears. "I'm really going to miss you, Star."

The princess held his face in her hands and traced the outlines of his mask, almost as if she were staring into the eyes underneath. "Dear Robin, there is no shame in displays of sadness. It honours those we have loved and lost. But you have not lost me." Her words of wisdom echoed the ones she had said on the anniversary of his parents' death, and the stone crime fighter melted into his girlfriend's warm embrace. He could vaguely hear her whispering loving words through their tears, and Robin held onto her as tightly as he could, never wanting to let her go.

But he had to eventually. If you love somebody, let them go, and if they love you back, they'll return, right? Robin loosened his hold on her and pressed his lips to hers passionately. Though they came from two different worlds and were now on two separate paths, none of it mattered in that moment, and they continued to kiss lovingly and desperately, fingers tangled in each other's hair and hearts pressed against each other's.

Behind them, Galfore cleared his throat, forcing the couple back to reality. They reluctantly pulled apart, but not before Robin took hold of her hands. Still unable to express his true feelings for the princess, he gazed into her green eyes and said, "I'll see you soon, m'halkita."

"It is not good-bye, m'halkita," she whispered, and let go of her boyfriend. Starfire turned to her friends and followed them to the T-Ship to send them off. Too depressed to say any more good-byes, the Titans climbed into their pods and waved sadly at their friend. Robin locked eyes with her and smiled reassuringly, then looked away and prepared for takeoff.

Starfire stepped to the side of the airstrip and stood by her brother, who put a comforting arm around her shoulders. Galfore, too, rubbed his bumgorf's back to comfort her and gave the Titans a Tamaranean salute.

Then the T-Ship took off, speeding down the airstrip before the boosters activated and in seconds, the T-Ship was in the air, preparing to leave the Tamaranean atmosphere. With tears in her eyes, Starfire watched her friends disappear into the sky, then silently walked back inside the palace.

* * *

_Author's Notes_

_1) The whole explanation about Starfire, Blackfire, and Wildfire's abilities to shoot starbolts was something I made up. I wanted to meet the comic book backstory and the TV version of Tamaraneans in the middle. Same goes for Blackfire's childhood illness and ability to fly_

___2) The scene where Cyborg comforts Starfire was inspired by a fanart called "I Promise" by Gretlusky on either tumblr or deviantart_

_3) If you catch any grammatical or spelling errors, I was in a hurry to get this up as soon as possible, so apologies!_

_4) I know there's no Blackfire or Deathstroke in this, but you'll see them next time… dun dun DUN_

_I hope this episode wasn't too anticlimactic for you guys! I apologize for the delay and hope you like it! Thanks for all the support!_

_Please r & r, and no flames!  
_

_Maribel ∞_


	6. Episode 5 - The Replacement

_A/N: Hey guys! Thank you all for your wonderful reviews and your patience! I'm so sorry it took so long, I've been so busy!_

_In response to jakefan, yes, I did use truffula trees as Tamaranean vegetation, and I'm glad you caught the reference! I figured that something as strange and rare as a truffula tree in "The Lorax" universe (the book, not the movie) might be kind of ironic if it was on Tamaran, which was still rebuilding and recovering its wildlife. (I have a strange and ironic sense of humour) Besides, Teen Titans has made Star Wars references before, when it came to Tamaranean flora and fauna (portkins in Betrothed aka Jek Tono Portkin, I'm also a Star Wars nerd)… Also, I gave Wildfire bluebolts because I found it on a Teen Titans wikia page (not the most reliable source but still fairly informative) and since in the TTG comics it's actually Madame Rouge in disguise, he doesn't seem to show any true Tamaranean abilities so I improvised. Apologies for the confusion!_

_Anyway, this episode is going to be written as kind of a goofy one. I figured that the Titans could use a bit of an emotional break, since I've been giving them a pretty hard time! It may seem really long, but if it was animated, it would probably be about the same length as a regular episode (it moves pretty fast)._

_Summary: After seeing his favourite hero Robin grow despondent with Starfire's absence, Larry decides to help him by filling the void with a replacement Starfire. Unfortunately, Larry accidentally conjures up a Starfire from an alternate dimension, and she seems to be more trouble than the Titans can handle. When there's trouble, Larry will probably make it worse…_

_Disclaimer: I do not own the Teen Titans. I do not own the Teen Titans. I do not own the Teen Titans. I do not own…_

* * *

_Season 6, Episode 5 - The Replacement_

"Titans, go!"

The four Titans charged at Kardiak, who had somehow regenerated and escaped from his frozen imprisonment and was now rampaging a daycare playground full of children. Raven and Beast Boy worked together to evacuate the children and caretakers, while Robin and Cyborg attacked the coronary and ravaging droid at its weak points.

"Man, when will you learn? Parents don't like it when you steal their kids!" Cyborg shouted as he blasted Kardiak's tentacles and narrowly avoided being sucked into them.

"I don't think this renegade robot can understand you!" Raven said as she joined the two boys and dodged a tentacle that would have otherwise grabbed her.

"Dudes, how did this thing even escape?" Beast Boy asked as he returned from evacuating the last of the schoolchildren. "Wasn't he turned into a popsicle like the rest of the Brotherhood of Evil?"

Robin threw an explosive at the heart-shaped robot, slicing off a few tentacles. He then knocked them aside with his bo staff and threw an ice bomb at the pieces, preventing Kardiak from regenerating. "Don't know, but we can find out later. Titans, make sure he can't regenerate!" The Titans followed Robin's advice and began dismantling the robot one by one.

"T-Rex Takedown!" Cyborg shouted as he leapt onto Beast Boy's shoulders, who in turn shapeshifted into a Tyrannosaur and ran towards Kardiak. This time, Cyborg turned up the charge on his sonic cannon and blasted at Kardiak's joints, while Beast Boy took the bits into his jaws and chomped them into tiny, irreparable pieces.

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" Raven chanted, and dark energy engulfed the robot, ripping apart the rest of its tentacles and disintegrating them. Kardiak fell backwards, its severed joints twitching helplessly as it attempted to regenerate the parts that were beyond any kind of repair. Raven's spell had also ripped a gaping hole in Kardiak's side, large enough for one person to fit in.

Now it was Robin's turn to finish him off. The Teen Wonder twirled his staff and, forgetting that the team was missing a member, jumped high in the air, yelling, "Starfire, launch!" Too late, Robin realized his error, and he found himself screaming and falling towards the ground defencelessly as Kardiak's remaining aortic tentacles expanded and reached for him.

Raven gasped. "No!" She redirected her spell at the team leader and enveloped him in dark energy, bringing him slowly to ground on his feet. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine," he spat, angry at himself for stupidly endangering the mission. The other Titans appeared at his side and regarded him with concern and pity. He decided to ignore that. "We've got to defeat him from the inside. Any ideas?"

Cyborg pressed a few buttons on his arm and activated his scanner to analyse the robot, which was still writhing on its side and struggling to repair itself. "If we could get inside and generate enough heat, we could cause Kardiak's systems to fry and shut him down for good."

"Aw man!" Beast Boy complained. "Who out of all of us can create enough heat energy to fry a machine?"

The three other Titans glared at the shapeshifter, who finally realized his mistake. Robin quickly shook it off and once again put on the face of a determined crime fighter. "Never mind. Cyborg and Beast Boy, distract Kardiak. Raven, you'll know what to do. Titans, go!"

"Hey ugly!" Cyborg taunted, doing a little dance. "Bite my shiny, metal — AH!"

Kardiak floated up into the air and prepared to drop itself on top of the half-robot, but a green rhino rammed into the machine's side before it could harm his friend. Beast Boy then shifted back into his human form and blew a raspberry, then he shook his bottom at the downed machine. "Eat my shorts!"

On the ground, the bits of Kardiak's tentacles shook violently and desperately slid towards each other in an attempt to regenerate Kardiak's limbs. The aortic machine turned its gaping hole away from the two taunting Titans, preparing to attack.

Robin stood next to Raven and took out three explosive discs. "Raven, now!"

"Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" Just as Robin threw the discs in the direction of Kardiak, Raven raised a shield around Beast Boy and Cyborg and herself and Robin. A loud explosion, even as it was muffled by the dark energy shield, and the wail of a machine breaking down could be heard, and when the noise stopped, Raven put down the shield.

The smoke cleared, and all that remained of the kidnapping machine were tiny bits of metal and fried circuits. Finally, Kardiak was defeated and dismantled, and Cyborg made sure to completely deactivate its systems to prevent it from regenerating ever again. Raven and Beast Boy left to calm down anxious parents as they questioned the Teen Titans about the monster that attacked their kids, to reassure them them that the daycare was indeed safe and the monster would never go after their kids again.

But Robin felt empty. Ever since Starfire decided to stay on Tamaran, he'd lost the thrill of catching criminals and defeating the bad guys. It was as if he were an android that was simply doing what it was programmed to do and putting criminals in jail was his only purpose.

And it wasn't just Robin alone who had lost the thrill of defeating criminals. Cyborg's victory "booyahs" lacked their usual playfulness and humour, Beast Boy didn't crack any awful jokes, and Raven seemed to distance herself even more. There was no one to shoot powerful starbolts at their enemies or high five Cyborg or laugh at Beast Boy's jokes or get Raven to open up a little more. And there was no one for Robin to catch, and no one to catch Robin when he fell.

Memories of their old battles played through the Teen Wonder's mind, and with each one, one of the only constant occurrences besides Cyborg's "booyahs" and Beast Boy's lame jokes was him and Starfire catching each other when they fell. To Robin, it was pure instinct: he never wanted anyone he loved to suffer the same fate as his parents because of his own helplessness and uselessness. Catching Starfire was something so natural to him, and even before they started dating, he never wanted to let her go when she was in his arms. Of course, he had to because there were battles to be won, but now, Robin just missed his best friend.

"Robin? Come on, man," Cyborg urged, snapping Robin out of his reverie and putting a comforting hand on his friend's shoulder. "You're the only one the parents will listen to." Robin said nothing, only studying the fried circuits in his hand. "We miss her too, you know," he added softly, as if he were reading his thoughts. Not that he needed to; Robin was certain his masked face was an open book. "I know it's killing you, but Star would want you to carry on."

The Titans' leader sighed dejectedly. "All right."

* * *

On Mars' moon Phobos, Blackfire paced anxiously as she waited for Lobo to arrive with her captured brother, muttering curse words in Tamaranean as the hours continued to pass.

"He better have a good reason for being late," she hissed into her communicator, where Deathstroke watched back in their hideout. Being human, he couldn't go into space with her without the aid of airships or the protection of spacesuits, not that he wanted to, anyway.

Deathstroke chuckled. "I have much to teach you, dear partner. Patience is a virtue, one that you do not possess."

"Well when people don't do things according to my schedule, I tend to get a little annoyed," she retorted. Off in the distance, she spotted a streak of red zooming towards her. "It's about time —" To her disappointment, Lobo carried nothing with him but an array of large weapons. "Where's my brother? You weren't supposed to kill him, you were supposed to bring him to me alive!"

Lobo's nostrils flared and he glared down at his client. "Look, princess, I ain't some Missing Persons cop or babysitter! Kid got away in an asteroid field and got rid of my clones. Now, those I can make more of, and if ya give me some more time —"

"You were supposed to bring him to me today! You worthless, incompetent…" Blackfire spewed Tamaranean derisions at the Czarnian Bounty Hunter, blackbolts shooting out of her eyes as she paced the potato-shaped moon. Then, when most of her anger had subsided, she collected her thoughts and sneered. "This completely stalls my plans. You failed me, Lobo. How disappointing."

"Lobo never fails! C'mon, princess, I know where he is, I'll go get him right now!" The large Czarnian Bounty Hunter began to climb onto his hovercycle when Blackfire shot the engines with a blackbolt.

"Consider that your final payment," she said coldly. "And if you haven't figured it out already, you're fired." After shooting him with another blackbolt (doing little harm to him), Blackfire took out her communicator and contacted her partner. "Change of plans, Deathstroke dear. The giant lump of _space trash_ didn't find my baby brother."

"I figured as much," Deathstroke commented sarcastically. "But our plan will go on without interruption, dear child. The next phase no longer requires your long lost brother. Report back to headquarters immediately, and I'll explain the rest. Deathstroke, out."

Blackfire rolled her eyes and turned back to Lobo. "Oh, don't worry Lobo, I'm sure you'll get what you deserve. Once word gets out of your failure, you'll go out of business, and you'll be useless to everyone once again." With a cruel cackle, the exiled Tamaranean flew off and left Lobo alone on the Martian moon.

"Not if I'm still alive and kickin', _Troq."_

* * *

Beast Boy flopped onto the couch in the Ops room and stretched. "Man! Is it just me, or is catching the bad guys getting harder? And how the heck did Kardiak get unfrozen?"

The rest of the Titans joined Beast Boy on the couch, exhausted from their battle with Kardiak. It had taken a while to convince the daycare staff and the families of the schoolchildren that the daycare was now safe for their children to attend again, and to calm down the frightened kids. Beast Boy had morphed into various animals to keep them entertained while the other three Titans explained to the adults that Kardiak had finally been shut down for good and there was no chance of him reactivating again. Robin had tried his best to feign bravery and stoicism, but the children saw right through his guise and one child was bold enough to ask the dreaded question, the very one that the Teen Titans had avoided answering whenever the press asked.

_"Robin?" a little red-haired boy with freckles and hazel eyes asked tentatively as he tugged on his cape._

_Robin looked down at the boy and did his best to smile gently. "It's all right, kid. The robot can't hurt you guys anymore. You're safe, don't worry."_

_The little boy nodded nervously. "I know, but where's the alien girl?"_

Beast Boy had hastily turned into a kitten beside the little boy, who was quickly distracted and completely forgot about his question. The Titans didn't want anyone to know of Starfire's personal mission just yet, fearing that the fugitive Blackfire would take advantage of this and seek revenge on her younger siblings. Cyborg had suggested building a Starfire android to replace her in battle and show off to the public, but each version was faulty and unrealistic, and Robin was uncomfortable with the thought of an artificial Starfire aiding them in battle.

Someone snapped their fingers in Robin's face, bringing him back to the present. "Yo, Earth to Robin?" Beast Boy called, and the Titans leader glared at him. "Sorry, but you haven't said anything in the last five minutes."

Robin sighed. "What were we talking about?"

"Um, _hello?_ Kardiak and how he unfroze himself and what we're gonna do about the not-so-high security prison he was in!"

Cyborg pushed their green friend out of the way and took a seat beside the Teen Wonder. Raven sat on his other side and put a comforting hand on his shoulder. Both shared looks of concern for their friend, and Robin shrugged the empath's hand off.

"I'm fine, guys," he said. "Stop looking at me like that."

Raven shook her head and stared into her friend's mask, unconvinced. "Look, Robin, we know you miss Starfire. We all miss her, too. But her being gone affects you in a stronger way than the rest of us, and it's affecting our missions."

He knew where this was going, and he didn't like it. "Guys, I'm fine. Honest —"

"You almost got yourself hurt today because you forgot Star wasn't here," Cyborg interrupted, crossing his arms. "Who knows what'll happen at the next mission?"

Before anyone else could say anything, Robin sprang to his feet and stood tall and rigid. "I need to be alone." His team mates watched wordlessly as the stoic leader stalked out of the Ops Room, half-expecting him to burst into tears.

Cyborg sighed and buried his face in his hands. 'If only Star was here,' he thought to himself. 'She's the only one who knows how to reason with his thick-skulled spiky head.'

"So…" Beast Boy said hesitantly and softly. "Does anyone wanna play the new _Corruption: Immortals in Our Midst_ with me?" Even as he asked, the changeling knew the answer. It was the same response every time, ever since Starfire left.

As usual, Raven said nothing as she summoned a teapot on the stove to pour hot water into her mug and a chai tea bag to steep inside of it. Then she got up and left the room, the cup of chai tea floating into her hands.

Beast Boy let out a false chuckle. "Heh, it's all good. I know video games aren't your thing. How 'bout you, Cy? I promise I won't accuse you of cheating if you win!"

The half-robot's shoulders fell, and he hung his head low. "Can't. Sarah's gonna call soon. Maybe later, BB." With that, he left the Ops Room, his best friend staring at the closed doors in silence.

Beast Boy's ears drooped, then perked up again when he felt something rub against his leg. He looked down and saw Silkie peering up expectantly at him, a warbling noise indicating that the mutant larva worm was hungry. "Looks like it's just you and me again, Silkie." The shapeshifter scooped the Titans' resident pet into his arms, and Silkie rubbed his head against his chest. As well as not having as much of an appetite, Silkie had dealt with Starfire's departure by sleeping in her bed alone, only leaving to empathetically follow Robin around the Tower. Most days, however, Silkie preferred the company of his first k'norfka before Starfire.

When Beast Boy set Silkie on the table to fetch a can of his favourite food, the mutant larva worm hopped off the table and managed to open the fridge, sniffing the contents until he found what he was looking for.

"Hey Silkie, look what I've got —" Beast Boy stopped short when he saw that the refrigerator door was open. When he looked inside, Silkie was suckling a bottle of mustard, Starfire's favourite "beverage" and topping. He let out a half-hearted giggle, knowing that Silkie normally didn't care much for mustard, and petted him. "Guess you miss her too, huh?"

* * *

Shades of red and pink seeped into the sky as the sun began to dip below the Pacific Ocean, the tiny white stars blinking as they revealed themselves to Robin. The Titans leader sat at the edge of the Tower alone, watching the sky for a sign.

There was no denying that his heart ached for Starfire. He missed her so much that he couldn't concentrate on anything else, and the few times she would call them — which not often, since Tamaran was a smaller-sized planet and days were shorter than Earth's — their conversations were short and obligatory. Last time she called, she was training with Wildfire on the neighbouring planet Okaara, and their transmission was cut short when Wildfire lost control of his bluebolts and sent them flying towards her. Knowing Starfire, she had probably moved away in time, but that didn't ease Robin's worries at all.

"I miss you, Star," he whispered to Polaris, the north star. Sunsets were Starfire's favourite time of day, probably because it was at this time that the Earth's sky would change into a shade similar to Tamaran's skies. Either that, or the colours and the reappearing stars fascinated her greatly. She even enjoyed wishing on the north star, something Robin found adorable. He decided to give it a go. "I hope you come home soon."

As if hearing his words, Polaris flashed brightly and briefly, before the bright light dimmed and began falling from the sky, almost like an meteor, only much smaller.

"Starfire?" he gasped, hope filling his voice. The unidentified falling object was headed straight for the Tower, so the Teen Wonder was almost certain it was his girlfriend. Then, as it came closer, he heard a familiar high-pitched, childish scream, and all hopes of it being Starfire vanished. The object hurtled towards Robin, who dove aside as it crashed into the Titans' volleyball net and became entangled. A small, round creature dressed up like Robin waved dizzily at the Teen Wonder.

_"Larry?!"_

"YAY I MADE IT!" Robin's alternate-dimension counterpart cried cheerily. "Robin! Hi!"

Still agape, the Teen Wonder untangled Larry from the volleyball net, and asked, "What are you doing here?" As if Robin needed any more trouble. Every time Larry visited, something in their dimension went awry, from almost ripping apart the very fabric of their universe, to releasing chibi versions of the Titans and their enemies into the city, to matchmaking with both Titans and enemies alike. He was almost certain that Larry would mess something up again.

Larry began to float in the air excitedly and used his magic reality-bending finger to illustrate, and images of the imp-like Robin watching his friends in a movie theatre setting began to play. "Well, you see, I've been watching all of your most recent battles and I know that you've been feeling blue since Starfire left, so I wanted to help!"

Robin's shoulders drooped at the mention of Starfire. "I'm afraid there's nothing you can do to help, Larry. We can't make Starfire leave Tamaran before she's ready."

"I know! But I'm not here to bring her back, I'm here to replace her!" Larry projected an image of his beautiful girlfriend smiling and laughing with Robin, making his heart ache even more. Robin waved his hand through it, causing the image to dissipate.

"Look, Larry, I appreciate the fact that you want to help me, but nobody else can take Starfire's place. She's my girlfriend," Robin said, and he began to walk away.

"Wait!" Larry suddenly appeared in front of Robin, blocking the door to the Tower. "I'm not gonna find someone to replace Starfire! No, I'm gonna duplicate her so that it'll be exactly the same as before and you'll be happy again!"

Robin sighed. "Larry, I don't think duplicating Starfire is a good idea…"

"Why not? It'll make you happy and she can help the team take down the bad guys! All I need is a strand of her hair! Just watch!" Then, without warning, Larry sped into the Tower, and Robin ran after him.

"Larry, no!"

The alternate-dimension Robin counterpart whizzed through the halls as he flew to Starfire's room, Robin on his tail and reaching desperately for his cape. Desperate times called for desperate measures. Robin pulled out his communicator and yelled into it, "Titans! Emergency!"

Raven's annoyed voice was the first to respond. "What is it, Robin?"

"Intruder heading towards Starfire's room!"

"That's impossible," Cyborg replied. "The alarms would be goin' off like crazy right now. There ain't nobody on this planet who can get past my high-tech security systems! Who you chasing, Rob?"

"Larry!"

Three collective gasps sounded from Robin's communicator, and just as Robin arrived at Starfire's locked door, the three other Titans appeared by his side, cornering the imp that was desperately punching in random codes to unlock the door.

"Nice try, Larry," Cyborg said smugly, grabbing him by the collar. "Only Starfire knows the code to her room, and only _I_ know the emergency override code, so there's no way you're getting in there."

Larry's nervous sweat flowed freely out of every pore in his body, and his eyes flickered from Titan to Titan, each glaring at him. "Come on guys, let me go. I'm only trying to help!" He attempted to wiggle out of Cyborg's grip to no avail.

"Why do you want to go into Starfire's room?" Raven asked suspiciously, crossing her arms.

Robin glared daggers at Larry, his face in an angry grimace. "He's trying to duplicate Starfire to replace the one who stayed on Tamaran."

"Only until she gets back!" Larry protested, and before the Titans could stop him, he waved his magic finger and burst into glitter, which then fell to the floor and blew through the airtight crack in Starfire's door.

_"No!"_ the Titans shouted, and Cyborg hastily typed in the override code.

But once the Titans had finally entered Starfire's room, they realized that it was too late. Larry held in his hands the urchin-like instrument that Starfire used to brush her hair, and he plucked a single strand of long, auburn hair out of it. His magic finger began to glow, and he slowly brought it closer to the strand of hair.

Raven panicked, and before any second thoughts could form she found herself chanting, "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" in a desperate attempt to stop the alternate-dimension Robin. Dark energy blasted out of her hands and towards the imp, who froze in place just as his finger made contact with Starfire's strand of hair.

The Teen Titans found themselves blinded by white light, Larry yelping in surprise as he was blown away by Raven's spell. When the light dimmed, Larry had crashed onto Starfire's neat bed, and on the floor by her hairbrush was a mass of pink hair.

Cyborg's jaw dropped. "Okay… looks like something went wrong with the cloning process…"

Larry winced. "Oops…"

As the team cautiously moved towards the pile of pink hair, it flipped upwards and floated into the air, a slightly smaller version of Starfire attached to it. She wore the same uniform as the original Starfire, but in a more vibrant shade of purple and somehow less revealing. Her green eyes were the same, but much larger and exaggerated in size, and her hair was down to her ankles and a bright shade of pink similar to Kole's. She stared at everyone in shock and confusion.

"Uh… you sure that's Starfire?" Beast Boy asked, grimacing. "She looks kinda… funny…"

"How dare you! I am not being the funny!" The Starfire lookalike screamed, before her eyes and fists glowed with charged, sparking starbolts. "Who are you and where am I?" she demanded angrily. "One moment I was doing the hanging out with my friends, and the next moment I am here in this strange but pretty bedroom surrounded by doppelgangers of my friends! What sort of trickery is this?" Around them, objects were suspended in the air and green bolts of energy fizzled, and the walls were starting to crack around them. Many of Starfire's possessions were burnt to a crisp, and the Titans and Larry cowered behind Robin and Raven.

Robin raised his hands in surrender, attempting to calm her down. She was a lot more hot-tempered than his girlfriend. "Starfire, calm down. It's us! Robin, Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Raven… and Larry."

The starbolts fizzed out, and she regarded him curiously, floating towards him until she was inches from his face. "I do not think so. You are much taller than the Robin I know, and so much more… serious!" She giggled, poking his nose. Robin blushed, but remained firm. "Why so serious, Robin?"

The Starfire lookalike then floated over to Beast Boy and Cyborg, who blinked at her in disbelief. "Beast Boy and Cyborg, you are much bigger than I remember! Please, will someone explain to me what is happening?"

Raven and Cyborg stepped closer to the Starfire, analysing her meticulously. Cyborg snipped off a small strand of her pink hair and ran it through his analyser, while Raven assumed the lotus position and meditated. In minutes, Cyborg's arm beeped and the words "DNA Match" appeared on it.

"It's Starfire, all right," he concluded, still scratching his head in disbelief.

"But from a different dimension," Raven added, opening her eyes. "She's the same Starfire, but like Larry, she's from an alternate universe."

Larry floated up to Starfire and circled her like a vulture, then gave her a big hug. "Oh, I know where she's from! She's from a universe perpendicular to yours, slightly to the left!" He grabbed her hand and shook it. "I love watching you guys too! You're so funny!"

"Watching?" Starfire asked, confused. She turned to Robin expectantly.

"It's a long story," he sighed, raking his fingers through his hair in frustration. "But we should really get you home."

"But why?" Starfire cried, her eyes twinkling with excitement as she flew around the room and to each Titan. "This is a most interesting dimension and I wish to explore every inch of it! Why is your Tower much duller than ours? Why is Beast Boy so funny looking? Does your Raven watch _Pretty Pretty Pegasus_ too?"

"Duller?" Cyborg echoed in annoyance. _No one_ disses his house!

"Funny looking?!" Beast Boy shouted, touching his face in insecurity. "But I'm the good-looking one…"

Raven quirked an eyebrow. _"Pretty Pretty Pegasus?"_ How the heck did she find out? That was one of her best kept secrets…

Each Titan glared at Larry, who shrunk into his cape sheepishly. Suddenly, the emergency klaxon sounded and red lights flashed in the room. Larry jumped up into the air and declared, "Trouble! Yay! Teen Titans, go! Teen Titans _go!"_

Starfire clutched her ears in annoyance. "Your emergency alarm is most unpleasant! However, I will be much obliged to assist in the down taking of your villains!"

"It's okay, Starfire," Robin said hastily, not wanting to see this version of Starfire get hurt. Sure, she was hot-tempered, but perhaps the Teen Titans in her dimension had slightly different battles than they did… "You can stay here and see if Larry can send you home. Titans, go!"

* * *

"Hey, you!" a guard yelled when he spotted a dark figure at the end of the hallway. Throughout the facility, alarms sounded and red lights flashed, but it seemed he was the only guard in the entire building. "This is a restricted area! You must vacate the — ah!" A large x was thrown at him, constricting in size and wrapping itself around his arms before it electrocuted him. The guard fell to the floor unconscious, and the figure stepped out of the shadows.

"Sorry man," a mechanical voice snickered, stepping over the guard and to the keypad. "Red X doesn't take orders from anyone." He put his palm on the keypad and attached an explosive x, then stepped back and waited until the bomb detonated and the airtight doors and cages opened, smoke blocking his view of the vials of the substance. "Oh, yeah baby. I've hit the mother load. The LexCorp xenothium storage vault, home of the largest supply of xenothium ore in the country. Finally, I'll have enough energy to fix the belt that Bird Boy messed with, and then I can go back to doing whatever I want!"

"Hate to break it to you, Red X, but the only thing you'll be doing is time in prison!" When the smoke cleared, Robin stood smirking in the centre of the tall and wide room twirling his bo staff, surrounded by three other Teen Titans.

Red X chuckled. "Long time no see, Titans. Though it looks like you're short a member of your team. Where's cutie?"

Robin's face hardened, and Raven put a comforting hand on their leader's shoulder. If he lost his temper, the entire mission would be in jeopardy. "That's none of your business. We're here to take you down!"

"Don't make me laugh, Bird Boy. I've seen your latest battles. What, did Starfire finally realize she was too good for you and dump your sorry —"

No one, not even Raven, could have seen it coming. The Teen Wonder lost all control of his temper and lunged at the masked thief, whacking him repeatedly with his bi-structural steel alloy staff. Red X teleported out of Robin's strong grip and reappeared in the air, preparing to smash his foot into Robin's face. Robin grabbed it and threw him into the other side of the room, while the other three Titans watched helplessly.

"Shouldn't we… you know… try to stop them?" Beast Boy asked cautiously as he scratched his head.

Cyborg nodded gravely. "We're in the middle of a vault containing the country's largest supply of xenothium ore. If they as much knock over a casel, they could trigger an explosion that will wipe out everything in a one hundred mile radius."

"Then let's end this." Raven closed her eyes and concentrated. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" Two blasts of dark energy flew towards the two boys locked in combat, restraining and separating them. "Robin, you need to calm down. You could endanger our mission if you don't control yourself."

Robin sighed. He didn't know what had come over him, but when Red X started taunting him about Starfire — he'd known from their very first battle with the anti-hero that he had a thing for the Alien Powerhouse, and with every encounter with him since the race for Robin's prized briefcase, Red X would flirt with her to no end. It was something that infuriated him, and not only did Red X bring her up offensively, but he'd picked on Robin's insecurities. Almost everyone thought that he wasn't good enough for Starfire. He shook his head free of these thoughts and sighed. "All right."

Slowly, Raven brought the Titans leader back to the ground and released him from her dark energy straitjacket. Red X remained in his, struggling to reach his devices. "Hey, Magic Girl. Do you mind?"

"Nope," she replied. "We're taking you to jail."

"Wait!" Beast Boy cried, jumping up and staring Red X in the mask. "Don't you guys wanna find out who he is? I bet he's Jason Todd! Or a bionic monkey infused with Robin's DNA! Or his long lost brother!" He reached up and began to pull off the skull-like mask.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you, kid," Red X said, almost glaring at the changeling through his mask. "It packs a bit of a punch."

Beast Boy snickered. "Nice try, Red X. Or should I say —" An x jumped out of the one on his forehead and blindfolded the shapeshifter, then Red X turned in Raven's direction and fired one at her mouth. "Hey, I can't see!"

Raven's screams were muffled against her x gag, and she lost focus on her spell, releasing the masked thief. He leapt up onto a high row of xenothium ore vials, fifteen feet from the ground, and grabbed as many vials as possible, stuffing them into his belt. "Learned that trick from your hot alien friend!"

"Don't you ever talk about her that way!" Robin growled, and he did a running start with his bo staff, launching himself into the thief and tackling him in the process. The two wrestled on the ledge, each throwing and deflecting punches at the other. They were evenly matched, Red X's martial arts skills on par with Robin's.

"Robin, stop!" Cyborg cried. They were dangerously close to ramming into the xenothium vials.

"Yeah, Bird Boy," Red X taunted as he pinned the Teen Wonder beneath him. He gripped his fists as Robin struggled against him. "Wouldn't want you to tire yourself out, like how Starfire got tired of you!"

"AH!" Robin shouted angrily, and he drew his knees up and kicked Red X in the chest, sending him flying to the ground. But Red X had another trick up his sleeves… or in his palms. Before he could make contact with the ground, he threw another x below him and activated an x-portal, blocking the other Titans from getting to them.

"It's just you and me now, kid!" He wiggled his fingers in a taunting stance, beckoning the Teen Wonder to fight him.

"Bring it on!" The two engaged in an intense martial arts combat, throwing kicks and punches wherever they could as well as deflecting them.

Below, Cyborg repeatedly blasted the closed portal with his sonic cannon in frustration. "Urgh, Robin! Don't let him get to you! He's just messin' with ya!"

After Cyborg had freed her from her gag, Raven sat in the lotus position meditating, attempting to reach Robin's mind. But unlike last time, she was being blocked out. How, she couldn't tell, but his determination to accept and conquer Red X's challenge was blocking any reason within him. "It's no use. I can't get into his head, he's blocking me out. He won't listen to anyone."

"Well, there's only one person who's ever been able to calm him down," Beast Boy said quietly, still blindfolded with an x over his eyes and yanking at it furiously. "But…"

"I know," Cyborg interrupted. "But who's to say she's the same as our Star? You saw how angry she can get. She nearly blasted our house to bits." Still, he couldn't help but wonder if their T-Communicator was on the same frequency as hers…

"So what are we gonna do?"

Red X jumped up and roundhouse kicked Robin in the chest, sending him crashing into the wall. "You're getting sloppy, kid. Bruce would be very disappointed."

…Bruce? Robin turned over onto his front and struggled to get up, groaning. He knew Batman's identity. That could only mean…

Robin had no time to think as Red X prepared to throw a slew of x-shurikens at him, but also couldn't move from the pain and confusion throughout his mind and body. Missing Starfire was _really_ getting to him.

"Robin!" A flash of green burst through the portal and all of Red X's shurikens were blasted to bits by green bolts of energy. Then a blast of bright green lasers sliced through the floor and towards Red X, hitting him and sending him flying into a row of xenothium vials. Alternate-dimension Starfire appeared beside him and pulled the Teen Wonder to his feet. "Your friends called for my assistance! You are all right?"

He couldn't help but let a small smile out. Okay, maybe the two did have some things in common. Her presence and similarities to his girlfriend were enough to bring him to his senses… somewhat. He was still really mad at Red X. "I'm fine, but we have to get out of here."

"Who the heck is that?" Red X groaned, pulling himself off the x-portal and pointing at the alternate-dimension Starfire.

"I am Starfire from another dimension, here to help my new Teen Titan friends!" she cried, starbolts charged in her fists. "And I do not like you for hurting them!" She proceeded to throw her starbolts at Red X, who repeatedly dodged each and every one of them. He threw an adhesive-x at the alternate-dimension Starfire, pinning her to the wall. Despite this, she continued to throw eyebeams at the masked thief until she freed herself.

"Starfire, wait!" Robin yelled, much too late. Her starbolts hit a row of xenothium ore vials, and one by one, each exploded into a puff of red smoke. "The xenothium! It's too unstable! Starfire, you have to stop!"

"Oh, great," Red X grumbled, and he took more vials into his belt. "Time for me to bolt. See ya, Bird Boy! And it was nice meeting you, less-hot-version-of Starfire!" The masked thief pressed the x on his belt and fizzled out of the xenothium vault. Larry popped in through the hole in the portal that the alternate-dimension Starfire created and put his hands triumphantly on his hips.

"Larry is here to help!" He pointed his magic finger in the direction of the exploding vials, fixing the cracks and stopping the last of the explosions. "Yay! I did it!"

Robin could only stare at the imp in shock. He couldn't believe that he had actually fixed something without anything going wrong. "Great job, Larry." He peeked through the hole in the portal and asked Cyborg, "Can you track down Red X?"

Cyborg checked the scanner in his arm and pressed a few buttons, then shook his head. "He's gone. Along with six vials of xenothium. Great."

"And we almost blew up LexCorp's Jump City base!" Beast Boy cried, tugging at his hair. "Thanks a lot, Larry!" The little imp's shoulders drooped, and the other Starfire fiddled with her hair.

"Never mind that, Beast Boy," Robin said, putting a hand on Larry's shoulder. "If it weren't for Larry, we all would have been blown to bits. Let's go home. I'll file a police report while we figure out a way to send Starfire back to her dimension."

* * *

The Herald stepped out of his portal and into the Main Ops room to greet the founding members of the Teen Titans. "In need of my talents again, Raven?" he joked, smirking at the empath.

Raven let a small smile show on her face. The last time that they called the Herald in was when they were sending Killowat home, trying to find the right portal to his universe. This time, they knew exactly which dimension to send Starfire to; she just needed his assistance in opening it.

The alternate-dimension Starfire excitedly flew around the room, fiddling with buttons and screens and taking in everything curiously. "Everything is so much larger and less colourful here!" She then spotted Silkie on the couch, who peered strangely at her. "Oh, Silkie!" Starfire picked the little larva worm up and stared into his face. "Your Silkie is not as cute as mine, but he is much bigger! Hello, other Starfire's little bumgorf!" Silkie warbled happily and snuggled in her hair.

Beast Boy groaned. "Ugh, can we send her home _now?_ I mean, no offence, but she's a lot more annoying than our Star! Not to mention dangerous…"

Alternate-dimension Starfire giggled, not taking offence. "I am not bad, new friends. It is merely the way I am illustrated."

Cyborg and Robin walked into the room and joined the others, having just completed the police report on Red X's xenothium robbery. LexCorp wasn't fazed at all, having the largest supply of the ore in the country and knowing exactly where and how to obtain it. "All right, Starfire. Ready to go home?"

"Oh, yes indeed! Although I do find your universe fascinating, your enemies are much more… lethal than mine!" Starfire chirped. "And I do miss my friends!" She floated up to Robin and encircled him, toying with his hair and his cape. "However, you are quite cute!"

Robin blushed. "It was… interesting to meet you, Starfire. But I think it's safe to say that you're not much like our Starfire, and you belong in your dimension with your Teen Titans."

"Indeed!"

The Herald took hold of Raven's hand as she chanted a spell, before blowing into his horn. A portal appeared in the middle of the Ops Room, and a smaller, brighter version of Robin peeked through it. "Starfire! There you are! I've been — We've been — You're okay!" he babbled both happily and nervously, chuckling at his own expense.

"Hello, friend Robin!" alternate-dimension Starfire cried excitedly. The other Robin winced at the word "friend," but still blushed contentedly, while this dimension's Robin grimaced for his alternate-dimension counterpart. He was much more awkward and neurotic than he was… or was he like that too? "Good bye, extradimensional Teen Titans! It was wonderful to meet you, but I hope that I never see you all again!" This Starfire was much more honest and unfiltered than theirs, too… Waving happily, she floated into the portal and enveloped the other Robin in a tight embrace, much to his pleasure. Then the portal closed.

Larry, who had been uncharacteristically sitting on the couch quietly the entire time, floated up and onto the floor in front of the Titans. "I'm sorry that I messed everything up," he said sadly, digging his toe in the floor and not meeting any of the Titans' eyes. "I just… I saw how sad you all were and I wanted to help… I wanted to be a real hero like you guys…"

Robin sighed, a small smile tugging at his lips. "It's all right, Larry. We know you _meant_ well. But you have to realize that being a hero doesn't mean that we go around helping people all… willy-nilly. When there's trouble, people call us for help, and we're glad to. But sometimes people don't want help. Sometimes they just need to figure it out on their own, and we have to respect that, even with the best of intentions in mind."

"'Sides, we can see it all from our Tower, so the people know that we've got their back," Cyborg added, ruffling Larry's hair affectionately.

"And even though we miss Starfire, we can't really do much about it besides feeling it," Raven interjected. "I can control it better than the others can, but I still miss talking to her."

"I understand now," Larry replied, floating up to meet their eyes and clasping his hands together. "But I'm sorry about trying to replace Starfire. It's just… I like seeing Robin and her together, and this dimension is one of the only ones where you guys stay together — Oops, I've said too much!"

This caught Robin's attention, but he shrugged it off. It was best not knowing, since it wasn't his business what happened with his alternate-dimension selves. "Larry, just because I miss Starfire and wish she'd come back home sooner, doesn't mean that I want to replace her while she's gone. She's my girlfriend, my best friend, and part of the team. She's a Titan."

Beast Boy shook his head. "But Robin… Larry…" He thought back to the time when Starfire went through a wormhole and travelled forward in time, and what she had seen happen to the Teen Titans when she disappeared. "She's… She's not just a Titan. She's the glue that holds us together." Beast Boy met each of his team mates, the Honorary Titan, and Larry in the eye. "With her, we are one team. One family. Without her, we fall apart. Everything we do feels empty. Different. She's so much more than a Titan. She's our Star."

All in the room stared at the normally goofy and scatterbrained changeling in shock, then nodded in agreement. Raven's eyes were wide, and she gave her friend a small smirk. "That was… probably the most profound thing you have ever said. No really… there's nothing to make fun of." Beast Boy blushed, and rubbed his neck nervously.

"I can't believe I'm saying this, but I agree with Beast Boy," Robin finally said. "Starfire is the reason that the Teen Titans were formed. There's no one — not even another version of Starfire — in any universe who could take her place as a friend and a Titan." Then he grinned at his alternate-dimension counterpart. "Say, Larry… you said that there were other Robins and Starfires in other dimensions, right?"

Larry's eyes went wide. "Yeah! But no, no, _no_… can't tell you about them. It's against the rules of reality, and I've bent so many already. And I thought you didn't wanna replace Starfire?"

Robin let out a small laugh. "No, I'm not asking for me. But if you're the Robin of your dimension, then that means that there's a Starfire too?"

As each Titan grinned amusedly at Robin's alternate-dimension doppelganger, Larry blushed furiously and slowly started to melt into a puddle. "Yeah… Um… Yeah… There is… R'dnairok…" He sighed contentedly, lost in daydreams. A thought cloud popped out of what remained of Larry's head, and an image of a small, giggling, imp-like version of Starfire appeared in it, surrounded by pounding hearts.

"So you've got a thing for this… Rid-nair… let's just call her Rita — Rita?" Beast Boy teased, eyebrows wagging. This earned him a customary slap on the back of his head from Raven. There was no way she was letting him continue the Doom Patrol renaming pattern.

Larry burst his own bubble and recollected himself from the puddle, straightening his collar and his cape. "There is _no way_ she would like me back!" he protested, resembling a certain Teen Wonder before he finally confessed his feelings for the girl he loved. "I mean… she's _R'dnairok!_ She's _completely_ out of my league!"

Cyborg chuckled. "Can't say I don't agree. I mean, just look at our Star and our Robin!"

"Hey!" Robin pouted. Why were all the jokes at his expense?

The Herald smirked. "Face the music, brother. It's the truth." Then he turned to Larry. "Now, how about I tune up my horn and send you home to 'Rita'?"

Larry clapped his hands happily, and he shook hands with each of the Titans in the room to say good bye. The Herald blew the Mystic Horn of Gabriel, while Raven chanted a spell that opened the portal to Dimension 4 and 9/8s, Larry's home. In the portal, "Rita" excitedly waved at her friend and blushed. "R'dnairok! These are the guys I was telling you about! They wanna call you Rita! Come and meet them!"

The eyes of every Titan in the room widened in horror, and Beast Boy and Cyborg stepped forward and hastily pushed Larry through the portal. "So long, Larry!" they called as the imp crashed into Rita's arms and the portal closed. Everyone sighed in relief.

"Thanks again, Herald," Robin said, shaking his hand.

"No problem, Robin," he replied, and after saluting the rest of the team, he opened his own portal and left the ops room. At the same time, Robin's T-Communicator rang.

"Robin here," he answered as he flipped it open. Red Star's face appeared on the screen. "Hey, Red Star!"

"Hello Robin," he greeted, his Russian accent as thick as ever. "How is our little zvezda doing on Tamaran?" Only a select few other Titans knew of the true reason for Starfire's absence, and Robin had chosen to tell Red Star due to their close friendship.

Robin rubbed his neck nervously. "Last we heard, she was doing fine. What's up?"

Red Star sighed. "That is excellent to hear. However, I am calling because I have an issue I would like to have running by you."

"What is it?"

"Just today, Titans North received a mysterious surprise on our property. A large cube-like object, about the size of you standing up, covered in strange patterns and seemingly impossible to open or activate. Jericho and Kole are suspicious of it, and rightly so. We are doing all we can to analyse it but have come up with nothing."

"Send us an image or sample and we'll analyse it for ourselves."

"There is more. When Argent was investigating the cube, she found one inscription that was legible enough for us to understand, though we do not know of its meaning." Red Star grimaced, hesitating.

"What does it say?"

"Are you familiar with… _Deathstroke?" _Robin's blood ran cold, and Red Star noticed that he had gone pale. "So you are familiar with it. Do you know what it means?"

Robin shook his head. "No, I've been trying to find out for a while now. But we saw the word 'Deathstroke' on a hunting knife used to attack Starfire a few weeks ago. Send me an image of this mysterious package of yours. I'll look into it —"

"Yo, Robin!" Cyborg cried. "Star's on the phone!"

Red Star smiled. "I will, friend. Tell our little zvezda that Titans North says hello. Red Star, out."

"Hello, friends!" Starfire — _their_ Starfire — greeted on the screen. "I have been missing you all terribly!" She wore a silver diadem band around her forehead and a simple, tan-coloured toga-like dress, her signature gauntlets still on her forearms. "M'halkita! It is good to see you!"

"Star!"

"Hey, Starfire!"

"Hey, Fly Girl!"

Raven, Beast Boy, and Cyborg crowded in front of the main telecommunicator, pushing and shoving each other out of the way in order to talk to their alien friend. This caused her to laugh. Robin shook his head and grinned, shoving all thoughts of Deathstroke to the back burner. The screen on the main computer flashed, indicating a new message. Most likely Red Star's files. Robin considered going over to the computer to take a look at them, but stopped. No, he really missed his girlfriend, and how often was she able to talk to them?

"Hi Star!" he cried, smiling lovingly at his girlfriend. Simply seeing her face and hearing her voice was enough to lift the burden he carried off his shoulders and chase his worries away. It was as if the sun had finally come up and shone its light after days of darkness. "I really miss you. How are things?"

Starfire blushed. "I miss you too, dear Robin! All of you! Things are okay, Wildfire and I have just finished training with the Warlords of Okaara and we are currently celebrating the first Festival of Harvest that Tamaran has seen in years! But enough about me, how about you, friends?"

The Titans exchanged looks of hesitation. Robin chuckled. "It's a long story…"

"Well, as of right now I have all the time in the world! Do tell of your adventures and missions without me!"

Oh boy. This could take a while.

* * *

_Author's Notes:_

_1) Futurama and The Simpsons anyone?_

___2) Teen Titans and Teen Titans Go crossover yay! Since the spin-off is so different than the original (in the sense that it is goofier and darker), I decided to make it an alternate dimension and see how the two would interact. I'm not hating on the new show, I do actually like it, but I thought it would be interesting to juxtapose the two versions of the Titans._

_3) TTG Starfire quotes the joker and also paraphrases Jessica Rabbit: I'm not bad, I'm just drawn that way." Sorry, I had to!_

_4) What Beast Boy said about about Starfire was inspired by a tumblr post on starboltingsams' tumblr_

_5) Beast Boy naming R'dnairok "Rita" is a reference to him naming Nosyarg Kcid "Larry," most likely after Larry Trainor aka Negative Man. Inspired by a post on teentitansheadcanon_

_6) zvezda, Russian for "star". Also, I'm not sure exactly who is on the Titans North team besides Red Star (according to a wikia page), so in my series the members are: Red Star (as leader), Kole and Gnaark, Jericho, and Argent_

_Whoo! I finally finished it! Again, I am so sorry for the extremely long wait! I have been so busy lately and finally had the time to finish this episode today. I hope it was worth the wait… I kinda rushed this one!_

___Thank you all so much for your support in this fanfiction and I hope this was worth the long wait! I will try to finish episode six as soon as possible, as I am going away on vacation for ten days after this weekend and may or may not have access to internet…_

_Anyway, thanks again, and please r & r (again, no flames!)_

_Maribel ∞_


	7. Episode 6 - Moving On and Up

_A/N: Oh man! I had no idea there was so much competition for Season Six fanfics… I hope I'm not boring you guys with mine… but mark my words, I do plan on finishing this one! And thank you all again for your amazing support! Your reviews are what keep me going, so please continue them!_

_I'm posting this one and possibly the next one a little earlier, as I'll be going on vacation soon. Don't expect episode 7 to be up as quickly, though. I'm also thinking about starting a new fanfic, and writing more oneshots. Yeah, this girl's super duper busy! This also seems a bit long, but again, half of it are thoughts. If it were animated, then it would probably be as long as a regular episode._

_Summary: The White Monster returns, and with Starfire gone, the Titans are short-handed, until a face from the past comes to their rescue. But trust isn't so easy to repair once it's been broken. Wildfire is still unsure about becoming the next Grand Ruler, especially with rebellion on the horizon and impending war, but his big sister finds a way to lift his spirits._

_Disclaimer: In my imaginary universe, I pretend to own the Teen Titans, but here in this universe, I do_ not,_ nor anything else affiliated with DC Comics._

* * *

_Season 6, Episode 6 - Moving On and Up_

"A box?!" Beast Boy cried. "What's the big deal about this box?"

It had been days since the Titans last spoke to Starfire and first received Red Star's files, and just an hour ago, Titans East had received their own, just at the bottom of the cliffs. Bumblebee, Aqualad, and Mas y Menos all investigated it on their own, but weren't able to discern just what it was, so they sent Robin images of their mysterious package.

Robin went immediately to the main computer and checked out Red Star's files on the Deathstroke cube, opening 3-D holographic images of it to analyse in the ops room. He also opened the Titans East's files to compare the two strange devices. The other Titans had gathered around it and stared at it curiously.

"Deathstroke," Robin muttered. "Whatever this thing is, it belongs to them. Probably another message."

Cyborg rotated the hologram and zoomed in on areas of the box. The Titans were gathered in the ops room to investigate the "mysterious package" that Titans North had received. "No hinges… no screws… no wires… yet it's made of promethium, titanium, and vanadium alloy, and I'm picking up all kinds of radioactive energy from it. I hope Red Star's the only one who touched it. The thing's unstable. I don't even think it's from Earth. Just look at all those symbols all over it."

The hologram was life-sized, about as tall as Raven — Red Star had underestimated Robin's post-pubescent height, and with Beast Boy's growth spurt, Raven was now the shortest team member — and in the shape of a perfect cube. Strange symbols decorated the metallic cube all over, cut off by a harshly written "Deathstroke," thin and rushed in its writing, on the bottom right corner of one face.

Raven stepped forward and touched Deathstroke's name, zooming in on it. "But look at the way Deathstroke is written on it. These symbols were pressed in while the metal was still hot. Deathstroke was _carved_ in, and judging by the scorch marks and the depth of each letter, I'd say it was scratched in by some sort of hot laser."

"So either this Deathstroke is an alien, or he's just taking credit for someone else's creation," Robin concluded. "But there's not much of a connection to the knife besides the name, and now there's two of them. There's got to be some sort of subliminal message!"

"I know! Maybe they're both weapons of mass destruction!" Beast Boy chimed. The others whirled their heads in his direction, then glared. "Okay, okay… not helping…"

Whatever Deathstroke was, he wasn't just after Starfire anymore. He was after the Titans. And Robin had to find out why, before it was too late. "If you need anything, you know where to find me," was all the Titans leader said before he left the ops room and headed for the investigation room. There were going to be a lot more sleepless nights for him.

The Titans stared at the closed doors in silence, then turned their attentions back to the holograms and screen. Beast Boy watched as Raven continued to stare at the cube, intently analysing it and trying to make connections. Her brow furrowed slightly in her concentration, her violet eyes searching and intelligent, and her hands purposefully rotating the holograms. He himself couldn't make any real connection to the hunting knife and the mystery boxes, but also couldn't help but think about how cute Raven looked at that moment.

As if hearing his thoughts, Raven's eyes immediately darted over to Beast Boy's and met them, her eyebrow quirking curiously as the changeling blushed. "So, uh, do you know what these things are?" he asked, hoping to cover up his odd ogling.

Choosing to forget about it, Raven shook her head. "No, I've never seen anything like this before. I looked through all of my books on black magic and sorcery, but I can't find anything. No matches on the symbols or the name, either. It's not a magical artefact, that's for sure."

"And I haven't been able to find anything in the S.T.A.R Labs files we have access to," Cyborg added, seemingly oblivious to what was going on between his two friends. "I'll see if I can run this thing through my computer, and maybe I'll look into the government's database on alien tech. If it's not magical, it's most likely alien, and I doubt there's a clown doll waiting to pop out of those boxes singin' the alphabet."

"That's too bad, because I'd rather that than, say, a ticking time bomb or something," Beast Boy joked, chuckling nervously. Cyborg and Raven turned to each other, sharing the same annoyed expression, before they rolled their eyes. 'Why do I always have to make stupid jokes?' he thought, mentally slapping himself. 'This is Raven! I can never get her to laugh the same way I could get — no, don't think about her… don't think… tofu, video games, pizza… ahh…'

"You okay, Beast Boy?" Raven asked, noticing the way her friend's face had gone from tentative humour, to pained shame, then sadness, and then blissfully blank. As an empath, she could also feel his conflicting emotions coming off of him in waves, some making both Pink and Purple Raven extremely giggly.

Before he could answer, the emergency klaxon sounded and red lights filled the room. Surveillance footage of the downtown area, specifically the mall, replaced the radioactive analyses and snapshots of the Deathstroke cubes of a rampaging white creature. When Cyborg zoomed in on the footage, he gasped, then sighed in annoyance as he recognized the creature.

Robin ran into the room, his T-Communicator in hand. "Trouble?"

"It's the White Monster that we took down a while ago," Cyborg said, clearly annoyed. "Some high-security prison, stupid city council won't fund my advanced security systems…"

Robin sighed. He wasn't in the mood for this, and with the team incomplete, he wasn't sure that they'd be able to take the White Monster down as efficiently. Seeing this, Raven suggested, "Maybe we should call Wonder Girl and see if she can help us out?"

But, adamant, Robin shook his head. "She has her own duties to attend to. Titans, let's go."

* * *

Cars were honking furiously as traffic only worsened, all commuters desperately trying to get out of the area. Pedestrians were screaming and running on the sidewalks as a tall, white creature smashed everything in sight. It was unclear what its goal and purpose was, but the only thing on the people's minds at that moment was "Where are the Teen Titans?"

The White Monster — as it had been dubbed by the Titans from their first encounter with it — wandered into the road and blocked the path of a minivan full of kids in soccer uniforms. The driver behind the wheel screamed and honked helplessly at the White Monster as it stared at her with its robotic eyes.

"Please don't hurt us!" she cried desperately. The van was locked in, with a long trail of honking cars behind and beside it and the White Monster touching the hood. "What the…" As the White Monster touched the hood of the vehicle, grey metal spread from its fingers all the way to the rest of its body. She and the children screamed when it drew its arm up and prepared to smash the entire vehicle.

A bird-a-rang hit the side of its "face," and when it turned to find the source of it, blue-coloured energy blasted the White Monster's side and sent it flying, before it was enveloped in dark energy and thrown into a building.

"You again?" Robin taunted. He wasn't in the mood to make any wisecracks, let alone take down a powerful monster. "Well you've just caught me on a bad day. Let's get this over with. Titans, go!"

Raven levitated into the air and cast her spell. "Azarath, Metrion, Zinthos!" A black barrier rose around the sides of the street, blocking the White Monster from harming anyone else and allowing the commuters to leave the area safely.

Beast Boy morphed into an elephant and charged at the White Monster, ramming into it with his tusks. However, the White Monster took hold of Beast Boy's ivory tusks and took its form, then hoisted him by the tusks and threw him into Raven's barrier.

"You're not gonna like the sound of _this!"_ Cyborg yelled as he turned up the charge on his sonic cannon. He took aim and fired, the concentrated sonic energy scorching its ivory form and weakening it. The White Monster screamed and returned to its original form. "Booyah! Yo Robin, your turn!"

Running to catch up with the cybernetic teen, Robin nodded and took out three ice bombs. "Hey, ugly! You need to chill out!" The Teen Wonder threw his ice bombs at the downed creature, freezing it in place from head to toe. Thank god, it was finally over.

Raven, Beast Boy, and Cyborg stood beside Robin, who breathed heavily. "Let's get him back to jail."

As the Titans stepped closer to the frozen monster, the ice began to crack. Not noticing this, Beast Boy crouched down and peered at it curiously. "That was way too easy…"

Raven, too, sensed something was off. "Hold on, Beast Boy. Don't touch —"

Too late, Beast Boy curiously poked the mound of ice that contained the White Monster, and it rumbled and shook until it burst open in an explosion of ice. The Titans shielded their eyes from the shards of ice that were sent flying, and when they reopened them, the White Monster stood free, its robotic eyes glowing a sinister red. It touched the shards of ice that remained at its feet and took its form, then swung his arm back to throw a punch at Beast Boy.

"No!" Raven cried, and before she could stop herself, she pushed her green friend out of the way, taking the hit instead of him. The impact sent her flying twenty feet away, her head about to make contact with the hard concrete ground.

"Raven!" Beast Boy shouted, and he morphed into a cheetah, speeding to the spot she was about to hit. He then morphed into a giant gorilla and safely caught the unconscious empath in his arms. Inside him, the Beast became enraged and demanded to be let out to avenge Raven, but Beast Boy recalled Raven's words. Now was not the right time to let him out.

Robin yelled in frustration. This was getting ridiculous, and he was so tired from staying up all night that he couldn't think of a good battle strategy. "Why can't you just stay down?!" Without thinking, he leapt up and prepared to roundhouse kick the White Monster, who immediately reacted by grabbing his foot and slamming him into the nearest wall. Robin crumpled to the ground groaning in pain, and the creature touched the brick wall to absorb its properties. It raised its arm to crush the subdued young hero, only to be interrupted by another blast of sonic energy.

"Yo, ugly! Get away from my friend!" Cyborg yelled, panting. His sonic cannon was at its highest charge, and it was beginning to drain his power cell. There was not enough energy for him to use his shoulder missiles. From then on, he had to rely on his own physical strength. Much to Cyborg's dismay, his blast did little to damage the White Monster.

"Aw, man! We can't do this without Starfire!" he shouted to Robin hopelessly. "It was her bolts that took him out!"

The first time they had faced the White Monster, they were short-handed because Beast Boy had run off after the Terra lookalike. It had taken an agonizingly long time to defeat the android without the complete team, and once Beast Boy had returned to them in the metals factory they had chased the creature to, Robin came up with a better strategy: Cyborg engaged in combat with it until he reached a bin of cesium metal parts and tricked the monster into absorbing the soft metal; once it absorbed the softest metal on Earth, Beast Boy morphed into a giant gorilla to keep him distracted and in its cesium form until Raven used her powers to suspend it in the air and envelop it in dark energy; then Robin threw his bird-a-rangs at it to cut its arms off and prevent it from touching anything else. Finally, Starfire used her eye beams to slice through the White Monster's chest and head, frying its circuits and shutting it down. Since they'd turned the android in to the police and locked its circuits away, Cyborg couldn't understand just how it came back. He'd have to find out later.

Cyborg screamed as the White Monster lunged towards him and threw him into a (thankfully empty) parked car. His head swam and he was too stunned to get up right away.

"Now's a good time to come up with a brilliant plan, Rob!" Cyborg shouted, moaning in pain.

But before he could think of anything, "Beast Boy! Raven! Look out!" Robin screamed from his spot on the ground.

As the changeling looked up from assessing Raven's injuries, the White Monster took on the form of concrete and had jumped high in the air, ready to crush the two beneath his feet. He froze in place, holding his unconscious friend tightly against his chest, and prayed for a miracle.

"No! Beast Boy!" a familiar voice yelled, and the White Monster was thrown away from them by an unknown, invisible force. Then, large chunks of pavement were ripped from the street and hurled at it, causing it to wail.

In shock and amazement, Beast Boy turned to the source of the voice, where he saw the schoolgirl who resembled Terra on the sidewalk, her eyes and hands aglow with yellow light and her shopping bags on the ground.

"No way…"

But she wasn't finished there. "Leave them alone!" The girl used her geokinetic powers to pick up the White Monster in its concrete form, levitating it in the air as it struggled to free itself. With an anguished scream, the girl put her hands together, then pulled them apart, causing the White Monster to be ripped limb from limb. The remnants of the White Monster dropped to the ground, and in the centre, a large, flat object resembling a computer chip lay fizzling. The girl then lowered her hands and stared at them in horror, shaking and gasping for breath.

"Tara?" the girl's friends cried in shock. "How… Why… OMG! You really are —"

"No…" she muttered. Her eyes darted around, noticing the attention she'd attracted from both Titans and civilians alike before she met Beast Boy's. "I can't… I'm sorry!" And before anyone could stop her, Tara sprinted off.

"Terra, wait!"

"That was… unbelievable…" Cyborg said quietly after he got up. "I mean… the last time we faced that thing, it took us forever to bring it down because BB had gone after that girl… and now…"

"It's entirely too coincidental," Robin concluded, picking up the computer chip and inspecting it. "The same day that the White Monster escapes prison, Terra's back?"

Beast Boy felt his temper flare up in defence of their former friend. "It can't be Terra's fault! You saw her! It's like she just remembered how to use her powers! Maybe she really did lose her memory when she came back to life!"

At the same moment, Raven came to and groaned, clutching her head. "Did we win? What happened?"

"You took a pretty hard hit," Cyborg explained. "And —"

"We'll explain the rest when we get home," Robin interrupted, giving the cybernetic teen a hard look. After all this time, Raven was still sensitive when it came to Terra. When she was Slade's apprentice, Terra had taunted and mocked Raven cruelly, picking on her insecurities and using her half-demonic nature against her. All the things Raven hated about herself were brought up by Terra, and the geokinetic girl had nearly destroyed the Titans and the city. Forgiving her wasn't going to be easy. "I've gotta run some tests on this thing, see who created it and how it broke out of jail."

Beast Boy helped Raven to her feet, his arm around her waist and her arm draped over his shoulders. "You okay?" he asked softly, regarding her with concern.

Raven blinked as she gazed into the changeling's eyes and blushed, before withdrawing her arm and shaking out of his hold. "I'm fine. Never better."

He couldn't suppress the desire to make a stupid joke. "Heh, at least you got ice on it right away." _Slap!_

* * *

In his throne, Wildfire felt his brain numbing as the royal adviser paced in front of him and droned on and on about etiquette and politics… or was it war strategies and Tamaranean traditions? He couldn't care less, being bored out of his mind. Being Grand Ruler was going to be a lot harder than he ever thought possible.

"…and so, as Grand Ruler, one must lead the planet with grace, valour, and dignity, never once…"

It was the same routine almost every day since returning from Okaara. Wake up early, get dressed in clothing that was both hideous and uncomfortable by servants, devour and fight over breakfast with the court, go over the political reports, listen to the royal council members lecture him, and spend time with his sister.

Wildfire twitched himself awake and faintly heard the major domo drone, "It's an honour and a privilege, this duty I perform, and as Grand Ruler you shall have the due sense of decorum and of pride, having my sincere deference…"

With his memory almost completely back, it was strange to see how Starfire behaved compared to when they were children. She was so much stronger and independent now, and her fierce, intimidating warrior side had surfaced when they were training with the Okaaran Warlords, who found her to be a delight to watch in combat. Her starbolts were deadly, her weapons skills enviable, and her agility awe-inspiring, Wildfire found it hard to believe that this was the same gentle and carefree Starfire he had played with in his earliest childhood memories.

But there were still some similarities. Starfire was still an open book, her emotions almost always visible on her face, and her smile was still as warm and beautiful as when they were kids. And she was still the same selfless older sister that Wildfire had admired, more so than Blackfire.

Each day, Wildfire spent time with countless Tamaraneans in and around the palace, even in the capital city. They told him tales of his childhood shenanigans, his parents' greatest battle stories, and even of the Teen Titans' adventures on the planet with his older sister. Hearing how well Starfire handled her forced near-betrothal to what could only be described as a giant, living glorg with odour worse than a zornian muck beetle and how she'd negotiated with the invading Psions (no explanation needed there, their malice and unethical experiments were notorious throughout the universe) awed Wildfire. The Tamaranean populace seemed to think that Starfire would make a great Empress, having a reputation that Wildfire would find difficult to measure up to on his own.

"Your Highness?" Zaa'zu, the major domo, called out in his monotonous, ancient voice. He waved a withering, wrinkled hand in his face. Zaa'zu was probably the oldest looking Tamaranean Wildfire had ever seen, with his tall, scrawny body and greying long beard. Wildfire had vague memories of him and Starfire teasing Zaa'zu about the morning report he'd enthusiastically give their parents daily, even making up a song about it. How did it go? _This is the morning report! Gives you the long and the short…_

"Yes, Zaa'zu?"

The major domo held back a sneer, rather unsuccessfully. "Have you been paying attention to anything I have said in the past hour?"

"Well…"

"Baby brother!" Starfire cried as she flew into the room wearing her Tamaranean crown and a long, flowing lavender dress, her stomach baring. "I am in need of your assist — oh, apologies, Zaa'zu! Am I interrupting?" Her twinkling emerald eyes stared at the old Tamaranean innocently, her long eyelashes subtly fluttering. Her signature Starfire pout. Wildfire was glad _that_ didn't change.

It worked. Zaa'zu sputtered nervously, fixing his neck plate and running his fingers through the thin strands of brown hair left on his head. "Of course not, Princess Koriand'r. You are excused, Prince Ryand'r." He bowed to the siblings respectfully, and they returned the gesture. "But we will resume our lesson this time tomorrow!"

"Thank you, Zaa'zu," Wildfire said curtly, before floating to his sister's side and out of the throne room. When they were out of earshot, Wildfire burst out laughing. "Did you see the look on his face? X'hal, I cannot believe that you can get that old bird to do whatever you want just by doing that look!"

Starfire giggled. "You are most welcome, dear brother! I remember how dreadfully boring his lessons are. I wonder if he forgets that he often repeats his lessons in the same hour."

"Well, thank you for your rescue," Wildfire replied. "So what do you need, Kori?"

"Oh, nothing important, Ry! I was merely giving you an excuse to abandon the lesson." Thank X'hal for his older sister. "Now, what do you think of my dress? It is incomplete as of yet, but it is the most comfortable gown that the clothiers have ever designed for me!" Starfire did a twirl in the air, causing the skirt to billow around her like a blossoming flower. The dress seemed to be made out of one large piece of silky material, the top wrapping around her torso like a halter and baring her stomach and the skirt wrapping around her hips loosely. In the centre of her halter was a green gem, and she wore silver cuffs on her wrists instead of her usual gauntlets.

"It is beautiful, big sister. But what is it for?"

Starfire winced, hesitating to answer. "For your coronation," she explained, weighing her words carefully. "I am to present you to Tamaran, and Galfore will ceremoniously place the crown on your head, representing the fact that you are his successor."

Wildfire sighed. "Oh. My coronation. And when would that be?"

"There is no need to have the haste, dear brother. You will only be crowned once you are ready."

"And what if I am never ready?" he cried out in frustration. Arriving at the doors to the garden, Wildfire threw them open and stepped outside, then floated above the ground pacing. "What if I am not fit to rule the planet? What if I make things worse?" The people grew more impatient with each passing day, and Galfore feared that rebellion was looming. Those who opposed the treaty and demanded that Tamaran return to their old way of life were sowing seeds of doubt into Galfore's few supporters, and there were some who even doubted that the Crown Prince was more fit to rule than the Princess.

Sensing her brother's distress, Starfire took his hand and sat them on a stone bench. "Dear Ryand'r, do you remember what Father used to tell us?"

Wildfire shook his head. "My memories of our parents are vague. I was too young then."

Starfire smiled and squeezed his hand. "Whenever we were afraid or uncertain about something, Father used to tell us that fear is merely a figment of the imagination. It is a ghost in the night that one must overcome, realizing that it is not actually there. Your insecurities and doubts in this case are no different, Ry. It is — to use an Earth phrase — all in your cranium. Thinking these distressing thoughts is a sign of a true leader, and it reminds me of Robin."

This caught Wildfire's attention, and he quirked an eyebrow. "Robin? The fearless Teen Wonder and your m'halkita? _He_ has doubts like mine?" He couldn't believe his ears. "But the way you speak of him in your adventures… he seems so courageous!"

"Oh yes, he is," Starfire replied, fiddling with her hair. "But Robin has many times doubted his skills as a leader. In the end, he realizes that he _is_ a good leader because he cares for the world we protect and his team mates, his family. But what of you?"

Wildfire pondered over this, letting his sister's words trickle through his veins. "I do care deeply about Tamaran. Everyone has taught me much, and I love all the animals and the people that I come across. For the first time in years, I truly feel at home." He straightened up and smiled. "Perhaps you are correct, Koriand'r. But I still do not know if I am right for Tamaran."

"You will in time, baby brother." She got up and smoothed down her dress. "Now, would you like to accompany me to the telecommunicator? I wish to speak to my friends, and I think you may benefit from speaking with Robin."

* * *

The main computer beeped as it finished analysing the White Monster's circuits, and Cyborg downloaded the data into his arm. Robin tapped a few buttons and activated the main screen on the window overlooking the ocean, projecting images and analyses of the White Monster. Finally, Cyborg's arm beeped, indicating a match.

"I've run this thing through my computer and S.T.A.R. Labs, and came up with this," he concluded, inserting a cable from his arm to the main computer. "It was made by the same tech that was used to give Terra and Geo-Force their powers. The White Monster is a failed android created by General Immortus' scientists, using stolen technology from this insane scientist called Professor Ivo. The Justice League and Green Lantern Corps have dealt with this guy before." Robin nodded, then urged him to continue. On the main screen in the Ops room, images of the White Monster, Professor Ivo, Geo-Force, Terra, and General Immortus appeared.

"General Immortus stole Professor Ivo's tech from his Amazo bot after the experiments on Terra and Geo-Force turned out to be successful, and he wanted to exploit their abilities and use them in his own army of these androids to take over Markovia. But General Immortus ain't exactly a genius when it comes to technology, so he hired all these anonymous guys to design them to have the same abilities as the prince and princess. It backfired, and it's only able to absorb any substance on Earth rather than control it, but it was still virtually unstoppable. According to recent reports, when Geo-Force reformed the kingdom, he also had the rest of the androids destroyed."

"All but two, it looks like," Raven added, peering at the screen. She typed in a few commands on the keyboard, and more locked files opened on the main screen. "Geo-Force used his powers to destroy the android army, but somehow he accidentally caused two to glitch and develop thought. It's been after him and his sister ever since, seeking their powers as well as revenge."

The gears turned in Robin's head, and he made the connections. "I checked with the prison, and they told me that they'd destroyed the android's remaining parts and circuits right after we turned it in to them. I even checked the evidence lockers myself, and they're not lying. So the White Monster never escaped from prison; it was just the second one searching for Terra."

"At least Terra took care of him," Beast Boy piped up, still thinking about her sudden reappearance. "We would have gotten our butts kicked if it weren't for her."

Raven rolled her eyes. After Cyborg took her to the infirmary and made sure that her head was okay — just a bruise, no concussions — he'd informed her of how they had finally defeated the White Monster. Hearing about how Terra was suddenly able to use her powers after Beast Boy telling them that she didn't seem to have any made her uneasy and suspicious. She was probably the only Titan on the team who hadn't forgiven Terra, even after her sacrifice. Her one-on-one battle with her had left scars in her mind, Terra's words constantly echoing in it whenever she doubted herself. _Witch_. That was what Terra had called her. _"You know, Raven, I never liked you."_ After all that they'd been through…

_"__Come on, Raven. What stinks the most? That I tricked you? That I nearly wiped out your team? That everyone liked me better than you?"_

_"Stop it!"_

_"Or is it that deep down inside you really believed I was your friend?"_

That had been the last straw to break the camel's back, and Raven's demonic side had taken her over, leading her to her own defeat. "It doesn't matter who stopped the White Monster," she snapped angrily. "The important thing is that it's gone for good, and the city is safe again."

"You know Raven, you could just let it go already," Beast Boy retorted, his eyes narrowing at the empath. "Terra didn't mean any of the things she did when she was Slade's apprentice. And she gave her life for the city and now she's back!"

"Well why don't you just roll out the welcome wagon and give her her old room back and tell her all our secrets and —"

Beast Boy got up from the couch and towered over her, yelling in her face, "Stop it! You don't know what you're talking about, okay?"

"I do know what I'm talking about!" Raven got up and walked towards the window, staring at the clouded sky. "The things she said to me in that facility… she wasn't lying. And Slade didn't hypnotize her or anything, I could sense it. She meant every word she said to me. And she only apologized to _you,_ not us. So excuse me for having trust issues when it comes to her."

The changeling's ears sagged. Why is that Terra always had a way with confusing his feelings? He nearly kissed her in that ferris wheel… but then she betrayed him to Slade. And then she tried to kill everyone and took over the city. And then she sacrificed herself to repair the all the damage she had done. And then her statue disappeared and a schoolgirl that looked like her suddenly showed up, but had nothing in common with the Terra he knew. Geo-Force, her older brother, had finally convinced him to move on, and he did, knowing full well she could never be the girl in his memories ever again… but with her sudden involvement in their battle with the White Monster… Beast Boy didn't know what to think.

"Raven… I'm sorry," he said quietly, walking up to her and putting a hand on her shoulder. He had no idea how much Terra's betrayal had affected her, since the empath was an expert at keeping her emotions hidden. In hindsight, he should've known, since it had taken Raven so long to accept Terra as a friend and a fellow Titan, only to have this shattered by her betrayal. Raven had been the first to accuse Terra of being evil from the beginning, that she had been lying to everyone the entire time, and was never truly their friend. He'd snapped at her, his broken heart blocking any sense of reason, but looking back… They were both wrong.

"You're not the one who should be sorry," she replied, and a small smile formed on her lips as she looked at the changeling.

Robin cleared his throat. It was time to get back to investigating both the White Monster and the Deathstroke cube. "Well, now that that's settled —"

The Titans' doorbell rang and surveillance footage of the front door appeared on the main screen. Terra — or Tara? — looked into the camera and gave a nervous smile, tugging at her long blonde hair. "Hey, guys. Can I come in? I think I have some explaining to do."

Everyone exchanged looks, then looked expectantly at Robin. He sighed. "Come on up, Terra."

Minutes later, the doors to the ops room opened and Tara cautiously stepped in, still in her white t-shirt and denim shorts. She was greeted by four shocked stares and stunned silence. The shy schoolgirl in front of them, with her blonde hair parted down the middle and her uncertain blue eyes, completely contrasted the Terra they once knew… well, the Terras. The insecure but fun-loving girl they had taken into their home. The confident and enthusiastic new Titan. The merciless and dangerous apprentice of Slade. And now an average civilian girl.

"Um, hi guys," she greeted tentatively. "Thanks for letting me in." Then she turned to Beast Boy and smiled. "Hi, Beast Boy."

The changeling said nothing, only continued to stare at her in shock. Finally, Robin cleared his throat and gestured for her to come into the living room. "Hi Terra, if you still go by that."

Tara chuckled and joined the Titans in the living room. "Hey, my ribs haven't been broken yet. Where's Starfire?" When she saw Robin wince and the others look away nervously, she immediately regretted her question. "Oh… sorry… Is she okay?"

"She's fine, but I take it you're not here to chitchat," Cyborg said, his tone serious. "Care to explain what happened earlier?"

Beast Boy glared at his cybernetic friend for being so frank, but Tara nodded. "It's okay, Beast Boy. I know I owe you guys an explanation, and that's why I'm here." She took a deep breath and stared down at her hands.

"My name is Tara Markov, and that's what I go by now. I don't know how, but after I stopped the volcano and turned to stone, I was restored back to life. When I left the cave I was in, I found out that you guys had just finished saving the world from some interdimensional demon who turned everybody into statues." Raven's eyebrow went up curiously. So it _had_ been her doing.

"I don't even know how I turned to stone. But what I do know is that I was ashamed of myself for everything that I did. I wanted to be normal… to start a new life so that I couldn't endanger anyone else with my powers, so I went back home to Markovia and got some help from government agents. I kept my name to keep things simple, but they created a new legal identity for me… a normal citizen in Jump City, with my aunt, of course." She looked up and met Beast Boy's eyes. "Though I stayed in Jump City to stay close to you guys, I didn't wanna be a Titan anymore. I was afraid that — that I'd go down the wrong road again and hurt everyone. So when you saw me downtown and confronted me at school, I had to lie to you. I had to pretend that I didn't have any powers… I've even been taking medications to suppress them! I didn't want to cause you any more trouble than I already have.

"But then I saw you guys fighting that… _thing_, and you guys were getting thrashed. I wasn't thinking — heck, I thought that my meds were working… I just knew that I had to help —"

"So you blew your cover," Beast Boy finished.

Tara's eyes filled with tears as she nodded. "I'm so sorry, guys! I really am! I just hated myself for everything I did before I met you guys, I hated the person I became when I was with Slade and I hated myself for what I did to you all! I couldn't let you guys go through it all again if I returned to the team. And I still don't want to. I'm no hero, guys. It's not who I am.." Then she sighed and hid her face in her hands. "Well… I don't know who I really am, yet. But I'm getting there."

"We know," Cyborg said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "And we forgave you when you sacrificed yourself to stop the volcano."

Robin nodded. "It's okay, Tara. We're not asking you to come back to the team. You don't have to do anything that you don't want to do. You always have a choice."

"And Geo-Force and I saw how happy you were at your school," Beast Boy added, smiling despite the turmoil in his heart. "So if you're happy with your new life, that's okay. We want you to belong somewhere, to be happy. You deserve to be."

At this, Tara gave a small smile. "I knew that was him! I should really talk to Brion when I'm done here…" She then turned to Raven. "Raven, I know you're still mad at me. I'm so sorry for the things I said to you. I… I was being spiteful. I was always insecure when it came to you. I guess it's because everyone on the team loved you so much and you were so hostile when we first met… Well it doesn't matter why. I still hurt you, and for that, I'm sorry."

All eyes were on Raven as she stared emotionlessly at Tara. As she stepped closer to the former Titan, she gulped. Violet eyes bore into blue ones, searching for something. Truth. Sorrow. Remorse. Shame. Fear. And, strangely, peace. Raven let this sink in. It seemed that lately, Beast Boy was usually right about things. Go figure. She had to let go of the past. Her friends had been gracious enough to do that for her. Heck, they'd been willing to risk their lives for her even after she gave herself up to Trigon. It seemed only fair to do the same to Tara.

The words themselves were quiet, but when they came, it was as if a burden had been lifted off the shoulders of everyone present in the room. "I forgive you." Raven smiled, and though it was tiny, it was genuine. "And I'm also sorry."

"Oh, thank you Raven!" Tara cried, and she opened her arms wide for an embrace before realizing who it was that she wanted to hug, and she froze.

"I don't hug," she said dryly, even though the other Titans knew the truth. Forgiving her was much easier than sealing it with a hug.

Tara giggled. "Same old Raven." 'Little did she know,' Raven thought. "And you're not the one who should be sorry."

The main telecommunicator beeped, indicating that they had a call. Starfire's face appeared on the screen, beaming happily and wearing her princess crown. "Starfire calling the Teen Titans!"

"Starfire!" everyone cried happily, and they turned their attention from Tara to the Tamaranean princess.

"Hello, friends! I am calling to — Terra?" Her green eyes spotted Tara, who stood out like a sore thumb in her civvies. She couldn't believe it.

The blonde chuckled. "Hi, Starfire. Long time no see. Where are you? I was surprised that I was able to come into the Tower without having my internal organs squished together," she joked.

Starfire bit her lip. "I am… uh, I am on a slip of business!"

Tara turned to the Titans in confusion, and Robin smiled. "She means 'business trip.'" That was the official and vague cover story for the Tamaranean Princess' conspicuous absence that they told to the general public. The Teen Wonder wasn't quite sure if Tara could be trusted with the real reason. Once bitten, twice shy and all.

"Oh, old friend, it is glorious to see you! Please, where have you been? How are you? Did you miss me? And just why have you chosen to finally visit our home?" she gushed excitedly without stopping for breath, almost popping out of the screen.

'Same old Starfire,' Tara thought. She grinned. "Um, school, fine, yes actually, and it's a long story."

"Wonderful! And why is it that that is always the response I receive?" Starfire asked. "I ask a simple question and everyone acts as if there is no time left in the world! I am not busy at the moment and my reason for calling is not that urgent, so please share."

Cyborg, Beast Boy, and Robin all took turns retelling the events of the day to Starfire, who listened intently and excitedly. Raven and Beast Boy exchanged looks throughout the conversation, and Tara smiled politely and shyly.

"That sounds most grueling, friends! I am glad that you were able to defeat the White Monster without my assistance! And Tara," Starfire said, "I forgive you as well. You are my friend always, and I care for you very much. I hope that you find happiness in your new life."

Tara grinned happily. "Thank you, Starfire! Wow, the day that I really want to hug you, you're not here! Where are you?"

"Uh, Tara?" Robin cut in, coughing. "I'm afraid that information is confidential." Did he really just say that? 'Man, I'm beginning to sound like Batman…' he thought to himself.

"Figures. Your missions have gotten a lot cooler since I 'left,'" Tara joked, nudging the Teen Wonder playfully. "I should get going anyway. I'm supposed to meet some friends at the fair, though they can't stop talking about how freaky my powers are."

"Don't worry about it, Tara," Robin said. "We'll make sure that your secret stays secret and you can go on with your life."

"Yeah, all it'll take is some memory-wiping and you're good to go!" Cyborg added, smirking. "I do have the technology, after all."

"And if you ever need our help, you know how to reach us," Beast Boy chimed.

All this seemed to overwhelm Tara. Even after all she'd done to them, they still cared for her… It took all her willpower not to let a tear fall from her eyes as she said, "Thanks guys! Really, it means a lot." Tara began to walk out of the room, before she turned around abruptly. "You owe me a hug, Star!"

Starfire giggled and squealed with delight. "I promise I shall give you the hug the very next time I see you!"

Tara laughed. "And Beast Boy? Thanks for understanding." Her blue eyes darted to Raven, then back to Beast Boy with a knowing smile and a mischievous glimmer in them. "And I hope you find happiness, too." With those words hanging in the air and a blush forming on Beast Boy's cheeks, Tara left Titans Tower, not once looking back.

After what seemed like aeons, Starfire broke the tense silence. "That was… most surprising."

The Titans turned their attention back to their foreign friend, finally noticing her attire. Robin blushed, a happy smile forming on his face. 'God, she's so beautiful.' "Nice dress, Star. What's the occasion?"

"Truly? Do you like it?" she asked hopefully, stepping away from the camera to give her friends a full view of her dress. "The clothiers have not finished embroidering it, but they wished to see if it fit me properly. It is in preparation for Wildfire's forthcoming coronation, though as of yet, we do not know exactly when it will take place." Starfire sighed. "Actually, friends, that is the reason for which I have contacted you. Wildfire has been having doubts about whether or not he possesses the qualities of a good leader, and I feel that he may think differently once he hears of your individual experiences in leadership roles."

"We'd be happy to help, Star," Robin said, grinning. Wildfire soon joined Starfire on the telecommunicator, and one at a time, the Titans shared their stories. With every experience, Wildfire's doubts seemed to melt away.

* * *

After signing off with Starfire, Beast Boy sat on the edge of a boulder, his feet dangling over the water as he skipped stones. The very spot where he found Terra hiding on her very first night in the Tower quickly became a favourite place of reflection for him, especially since it allowed him to think without having to sit still. The abundance of pebbles on this rocky side of the island gave Beast Boy something to do with his hands, something to satisfy his hyperactivity and restlessness as he collected his thoughts.

Beside him was a silver heart-shaped box, the one he'd made for Terra. He didn't know why, but he'd gone to Terra's room in search of the box, and now that he had it, he wasn't sure what he was going to do with it. Knowing that Tara would never come back to them as a Titan, Cyborg had suggested turning her room into a guest room, and strangely, Beast Boy was apathetic.

"Still thinking about Terra?" a voice said from behind the changeling, causing him to clumsily drop the rock he was about to skip over the water.

Beast Boy huffed lightly, then smirked. He suddenly remembered the time he'd first discovered his inner Beast and how Raven had comforted him at this very location. As recalling how he'd stupidly ruined their tender moment, he winced. "You mean Tara?"

"Whatever you want."

Her dry, low tone and her arched brow indicated a question there. Beast Boy regarded her carefully, and suddenly, the emotional turmoil in his heart ceased. Taking a deep breath, he explained, "I wanted Terra to come back so bad. I know it's selfish and all, since she's probably so much happier now than she ever was with us, but —"

"You really liked her," Raven said, and for a moment, the changeling thought he detected sadness and resentment.

Beast Boy laughed nervously. "Yeah. From the moment I saw her crush that scorpion monster. And we seemed to have a lot in common, and she trusted me more than anyone else. I guess I liked her so much that I didn't see her for who she really was… I always thought she was so happy with us, you know? Like, she made our missions fun and we had a great time playing video games and walking in the park… but…"

_"Things are never the way you remember,"_ Raven said, echoing Tara when he confronted her at Murakami High. "I know. She never let us see what was going on inside her, and she always acted so happy and carefree. That's what made me so uneasy about her before I learned how to trust her. It was like she was putting on a mask when she was Terra, not just because of Slade but because of something I couldn't understand until now. Tara just wants to belong somewhere; to be accepted for who she is and not for her powers."

"Oh." The changeling's ears sagged, and he stared out onto the water, where the crescent moon's reflection shimmered on the ocean.

He heard Raven take a seat beside him and put a small, cold hand on top of his. "I didn't mean it like that. She really did care for you, Beast Boy. More than the rest of us. But things change. You two are different people now. Tara's still figuring things out, and — if you tell anyone else I said this I'll deny it — you've grown up a lot since she left. You're stronger, smarter, and more mature — but not by much." Her eyes gave away a glimmer of mischief, and the changeling knew she was only teasing.

Before he realized it, a broad smile had appeared on Beast Boy's face, and suddenly he knew what he had to do. Reaching beside him, Beast Boy took the silver heart-shaped box into his hands and gazed upon his reflection. "Good bye, Terra. I'll never forget you." Then, to Raven's astonishment, her green friend stood up and threw the box as far as he could into the ocean. It hit the water with a soft _plop_ before it disappeared into the depths.

"I can't believe you did that," Raven breathed, genuinely surprised. Even with her powers, she never would have seen it coming.

Beast Boy shrugged nonchalantly and sat down beside her, then squeezed her hand. "Spur of the moment. 'Sides, we've both moved on." Suddenly he noticed that they were sitting very close, their foreheads only inches apart. His face became warm and Raven pulled away with a jolt, her face expressionless but her cheeks rosy. Beast Boy cleared his throat to ease the awkwardness. "Thanks, Raven. For being here." Every single instinct of his screamed for him to make a bad joke. 'Don't push it, don't push it…' "Hey, do you think I've grown up enough to change my name to Beast _Man?"_

"I take that back."

* * *

_Author's Notes:_

_1) I love BBRae and all, but I feel like it would take a while for Raven to accept her feelings for Beast Boy, much longer than it took for Robin due to her powers and such. Because of that, things may move a bit slow between them, but it will happen!_

_2) Cesium is apparently the softest metal on the planet. I dunno, I'm not much of a science whiz, and in the comics universe, anything is possible when it comes to science._

_3) I improvised Terra's origins in the TTG comics (see Issue #51) and the White Monster's origins. Since the White Monster has abilities similar to Amazo (and looks a little bit like the one in the Justice League cartoons), I combined their stories and made up something that's somewhat plausible._

_4) Things Change makes me so emotional for many reasons, of which I will calmly share: NONONONONONO IT CAN'T END LIKE THIS WHAT HAPPENED TO THE WHITE MONSTER AND WHO'S SLADE AND WHY IS HE BACK AND WHY TERRA WHY WHY WOULD YOU BREAK BB'S HEART LIKE THAT NOOOO BEAST BOY DON'T SAY OVER IT'S NOT OVER TEENTITANSISNEVEROVER! [end emotional rampage] But seriously, I thought Terra and Beast Boy deserved a better, happier conclusion without making either seem like the bad guy. I understand Terra's need for normalcy and safety, but at the cost of breaking Beast Boy's heart?_

_5) Putting in the part where each of the Titans share their own leadership experiences with Wildfire would have been too long and taken away from the Beast Boy/Raven-centric aspect of this episode, but I felt it was necessary to add that teeny tiny subplot about Wildfire and Starfire to show off their sibling bond and give Wildfire some character depth. Since we don't know much about him in the cartoon universe, I can make things up as I go. Also, Zaa'zu the major domo… lots of Lion King references in that part! And Starfire's dress is based on the one in her hallucination in the comics, where it's revealed that her greatest desire to marry Dick Grayson. Not sure which comic, though._

_Thank you for reading! I know it's not that exciting in terms of the season's plot, but I felt that Terra's story with the Titans deserved a proper ending (unlike her original and slightly insane comic counterpart)._

_Think we can increase the amount of followers and reviews this story has? (insert TTG Starfire's pout) Just a thought… I really do appreciate all of your patience, especially when I take so long to update! Thank you so much, and I hope I don't disappoint!_

_Maribel ∞_

_PS: Please no ship bashing. I know BBTerra and BBRae is a sensitive topic, but I won't tolerate anyone who hates on either Terra or Raven. They're both good ships and they're both awesome girls._


	8. Episode 7 - Not a Damsel

_A/N: __Your reviews are amazing! I'm so sorry it took so long, I was on a family vacation. The next one may also take a while because I'm going on another one. But thanks for your patience!_

_Some of you have been making plot suggestions, so let me explain that I have a master plan: Jericho and Rose Wilson will appear in the next episode, and (spoiler alert) Jericho will reveal his link to Deathstroke, thus connecting the clues that Robin has collected (yes, in this episode he'll have gathered more clues, but as usual, Slade's pretty good at covering his tracks). So I_ have_ planned a Jericho subplot, and the climax of Starfire's arc will be three parts, loosely based on her comic book counterpart's. I don't know what I'm going to call it yet, but as of now it's entitled "Fire." The finale will be somewhat similar to the last issue of the TTG, but I've got a few tricks up my sleeve. Hehehe._

_This episode is going to centre around Cyborg, though it's going to focus more on his human side rather than his insecurities about his cybernetics. It may seem like it's drifting away from the season's main plot at times, but hey, I'm mimicking the style of actual Teen Titans episodes._

_I know a lot of people ship CyBee (I like them too), but I really liked CySarah in the TTG Comics and wanted to give her a chance. Besides, this episode would turn out substantially different than I intended had Bumblebee been in Sarah's place. Oh, just wait and see._

_Summary: When his girlfriend Sarah Simms is kidnapped by Gizmo, Cyborg is forced to deal with the downsides of being a superhero and put his relationship with the civilian girl to the test. Robin uncovers more clues regarding the Deathstroke case, but with more of the "mysterious packages" popping up around the world, he fears that time is running out._

_Disclaimer: I don't own the Teen Titans. I'm a teenage girl who earns minimum wage, do they really think that I could afford to buy the Teen Titans?_

* * *

_Season 6, Episode 7 - Not a Damsel_

The lights hadn't been on in days. Boxes of takeout, both half-eaten and untouched, littered the floor by the garbage. Various papers and holograms covered the surface of the only table in the Crime Lab/Investigation Room, and the Titans leader himself stood unflinching as he meticulously studied them for the nth time. His signature mask veiled the dark circles under his eyes, the only evidence of his lack of proper rest for the past few days.

The others called this behaviour of his "Slade-mode," something that annoyed him but rang with truth. Only this time, he wasn't searching for Slade and trying to figure out his next plan. Though it had a similar feeling.

More of the Deathstroke Cubes — the Titans couldn't figure out what they were, and couldn't come up with a better nickname — had appeared around the globe at various Titan bases, from Titans South to Bushido's in Japan to Electric City to Keystone… the list went on and on. All had the same size, mass, and appearance, but even with the many geniuses and metahumans in the Titans Network, no one had an answer for the cubes.

And Robin still hadn't figured out the meaning of Deathstroke. He picked up the evidence bag containing the hunting knife that the Citadel had used on Starfire and peered at it closely. Her dried, orange-tinted still covered the surface of the blade, and he shuddered at the memory. There was no history of anything by the name of Deathstroke in any American state's criminal records, or S.T.A.R Labs' extraterrestrial files, or any of Cyborg's locked files. It seemed that he had absolutely no leads on the case, and though some of the Titans urged him to give up and rest, he refused.

He was getting closer, he could feel it. Time was running out, and it was only a matter of time before the founding Titans received their own package. Cyborg had finally taken pity on him and surprisingly gave him access to the computer in his room — the most powerful computer in the Tower and possibly in the entire Titans Network — but he hadn't felt the need to use it yet.

Maybe it was time to get an extraterrestrial opinion on the Deathstroke case. Robin picked up his T-Communicator and called for Starfire, who answered on the first ring. He already felt his spirits lifting at the sight of her face.

"Robin! It is good to hear from you!" she greeted, flashing her signature Starfire smile. She was in her regular uniform, though he couldn't tell what was going on in the background, where many Tamaraneans flew about hurriedly, carrying strange objects that looked a lot like the dishes served at her wedding dinner.

"It's good to see you too, Star," he replied, meaning every word. "What's going on?"

Starfire looked over her shoulder and laughed. Behind her, Wildfire picked up three pieces of food items that resembled bacon and placed them on his head. _"Observe, I am a rofien zobgar!"_ Everyone around them burst into laughter. "Oh, I am taking Wildfire on an excursion to the villages today, and we are enjoying the sights of the marketplace. Oh, I do wish you could see it! The zorkaberries are in abundance and the glorp has been freshly squeezed and the gorblas have been plucked off of the gertl'isks!"

Though he didn't understand half of the things she said, Robin still grinned. "It sounds great, Star."

But her smile faded and she peered at him sadly. "Dear Robin, why is the room so dark? Tell me you have not done the shutting out of your friends and the holing up of yourself in the Laboratory of Crimes, also known as the Room of Investigation?"

Robin blushed, and rubbed his neck uncomfortably. She knew him all too well. "Ahh… You see…"

"Robin! You are neglecting our friends! You will invite the rekmas!" she reprimanded, and behind her, several Tamaraneans gasped. She glared at them, and all scattered, leaving her alone with the T-Communicator.

"No, Star, there's no rekmas! I promise, I won't let anything happen to the team. I get out of this room… sometimes." Robin sighed, running his fingers through his now greasy hair. When was the last time he showered? And more importantly, when was the last time he did something other than follow clues and catch criminals?

Robin found himself melting under her no-nonsense gaze, goading him into telling the truth. "Okay, I barely get out of this room unless I need to pee, and the others bring me my meals. But I have a good reason!"

"You always have a good reason, and I do not doubt it is for the greater good of us all," she said sadly. "But our friends are our family as well, and I am sure that they miss spending the quality time with you. I know I do. Do you remember what I said to you in Tokyo? And what you said to me on the roof?"

"That we're more than just heroes, and there's more to life than chasing clues and beating the bad guys," he answered, letting out an exhausted sigh. "I know. I remember it every time I see you, and I really miss you. But this case is really important, and I keep hitting dead ends. I need your help."

The Tamaranean princess nodded understandingly, apparently calmed by his confession. "What requires my assistance?"

Robin turned the communicator's camera towards the holograms and print-outs of the Deathstroke Cube. "A lot of Titan bases have received these at their front door but we can't figure out what they are. Do you know what these are? Maybe some kind of crazy Tamaranean juke box or alien jack-in-the-box?"

Starfire hummed as she thought, and no doubt she was attempting to read the symbols on the cube. He slowly rotated the images so that she could see the entire cube. "The symbols are not Tamaranean, but they are of the Vegan language, a universal tongue known throughout the Vega Star System and some neighbouring solar systems. It is the second language of each race."

"So what does it say?"

Starfire hesitated. "It is a song of warning. Half of the words cannot be translated into English, so I will do my best to quickly paraphrase it in a way that you will understand." She closed her eyes and thought for a moment, which gave Robin a chance to grab his notepad and a pen. _"The days of ignorance soon will end. You have one last chance to repent. The gods have judged you to be unclean, and shine their favour on the ones supreme. Krish'vang is ours to carry out, and your world shall end with a bout. Bow to us, and doom you shall escape, or face the wrath of gods and… Deathstroke."_

Robin let out a light chuckle. "That was a rough translation? It rhymed really well… Except the last part." He found himself praying that she learned the Vegan language the conventional way and not the Tamaranean way.

"It is a song, m'halkita, of course it rhymes! Although, it is missing about four thousand verses. Have gratitude that I have spared you of them," she joked, giggling. "I do not know why it ends with Deathstroke, though. The original song of warning ends with any name of the party singing it, and of course, it is much more intimidating in the original tongue with a thousand angry warriors and the drums of war."

"What's _krish'vang?"_

"There is no actual word for it in your language, but the closest ones are 'purification,' 'genocide,' and 'revenge.'" Starfire's face had paled, her normally bright orange skin a shade of peach.

Robin stroked his chin with his finger as he made the connections. "So it's some kind of… vengeful, religious genocide?"

"That is slightly inaccurate, but close enough. Though I do not understand who is targeting the Titans this way. It is not a typical strategy for our enemies, yes?"

Robin couldn't help but laugh. "Yeah, they aren't nearly as ominous or technologically advanced. Do you know what the cubes are?"

At this, Starfire flinched and looked away. "I… do not. They seem familiar, but I do not know what they are," she said hastily, and her tone became more rushed and anxious. Already Robin could tell she was hiding something, but he'd have to coax it out of her later. "I am afraid I must do the signing off, dear Robin. Good bye, and please get out of the Laboratory of Crimes and do the chilling out with our friends." Then the transmission disconnected, and Robin was left alone in the tense silence that had dissipated with her presence.

The Teen Wonder was the epitome of the phrase "You don't know what you have until it's gone." He hadn't even noticed the change in the atmosphere and his personality until now. And it was all thanks to Starfire.

After Tokyo — now one of his favourite cities in the world — Robin had become more relaxed. Open. He'd become happier, even. The others surely noticed and teased him for it, and some of the other Titans from other teams were shell-shocked at his change, even mistaking him for a robot-clone of some sort. Only Raven and Starfire had reassured him that he was always like this, but his relationship with Starfire had finally brought it out of hiding.

And now she was gone, and he was suddenly back to his old ways. He hadn't noticed before, but the Tower itself didn't feel much like home anymore. And the days he spent locked in the Crime Lab seemed emptier than before his relationship with Starfire, when he was obsessed with Slade. Robin didn't like this side of himself, but at the same time it could not be helped. It was something he'd picked up from his adoptive father/mentor.

His friends didn't like this side of him, either, and tried their best to coax him out of the Crime Lab. Heck, Beast Boy and Raven had invited him to go out for pizza since they were the only ones left in the Tower and Cyborg had gone out with Sarah. And Starfire did suggest that he get out of the Crime Lab. Maybe —

Wait a minute. Cyborg was out, Beast Boy and Raven were out, and he was the last person left in the Tower. And Star wanted him out of that room. There was only one thing left to do. Without hesitation, he got up from his chair and resolutely strode out of the room, heading towards the elevator.

Once he got to his destination, he tapped in the override code and marched into the room. Cyborg had given him a small device that displayed his computer's passwords, the passwords changing every five minutes. He took it out of his utility belt and typed in the random numbers and letters that the device gave him. Robin then clicked on an icon on the desktop marked classified, and using his skills as a hacker, granted himself access to confidential and top-secret government files. Batman would kill him for this, not that the World's Greatest Detective hadn't done it before. Robin typed in the name "Deathstroke" into the database, sweat dripping down his brow and his heart pounding. He was getting closer, he could feel it.

The computer beeped, indicating a match, and just as Robin clicked on the file to read it, the emergency klaxon sounded, and he groaned in annoyance. "Great! Of all days, someone has to be robbing a bank! Who the —" He checked his T-Communicator, and security footage of Gizmo wreaking havoc on the streets of Jump City played. "Figures." Answering the call to his duties as a hero, Robin locked the computer and urgently ran out of the room.

* * *

"And then Starfire said, _'If I am not your_ girlfriend,_ then what am I?' _Man, you should have seen the look on Robin's face!" Cyborg cried, barely containing his glee while he gave his best imitation of Robin's reaction to his foot-in-the-mouth outburst. Beast Boy and Sarah Simms laughed, while Raven only gave away a hint of her amusement by smirking.

It was a breezy summer day in Jump City, and Cyborg had planned to take his girlfriend out on a lunch date and then the movies, but somehow they ran into Beast Boy and Raven at Pizza Corner and were now planning to watch the movie together, as a double-date of sorts. Flustered, both Raven and Beast Boy had insisted that the only ones on a date were Cyborg and Sarah, much to his amusement. Robin had opted to staying at the Tower, still knee-deep in clues on the Deathstroke case and determined to solve them.

"That was priceless!" Beast Boy added, high-fiving his cybernetic friend before biting into his pizza.

"I wish I could have seen that!" Sarah chirped, grinning. "Robin and Starfire were the talk of my high school before they started dating. We all had a pool going to see how long it would take for them to admit their feelings for each other. I won fifty bucks!"

"Your entire school knew too?" Cyborg asked, genuinely curious.

Beast Boy cackled. "Dude, the entire world knew! Even Tamaran knew!"

Sarah giggled. "I don't know who was more obvious, Robin or Starfire."

"Took him long enough," Raven added dryly, poking at her pizza. "Sorry we crashed your date, by the way. I was going to leave, but Grass Stain wouldn't let me."

"It's all right," Sarah replied. "I don't mind at all. I haven't spent a lot of time with you or Beast Boy anyway. How come Robin and Starfire couldn't come? Too caught up with each other to spend time with us little people?" She smirked and nudged Cyborg playfully, while he gulped and rubbed his neck nervously.

"Robin's working on a case… and Star… She's…" Cyborg was hesitant to tell Sarah the truth about Starfire's absence. Though he trusted her wholeheartedly, it was all too tempting for anyone to spread news as important as that, and with Starfire's archenemy Blackfire at large, Sarah having that information would put her life in danger.

Sensing her boyfriend's hesitance, her gaze morphed into one of concern. "Come to think of it, we haven't seen her in a while… Cy? Is Starfire okay?"

"Star's _fine_," Beast Boy answered with a mouthful of vegetarian pizza. Bits of green pepper flew out of his jaw. "She's just on a business trip of some kind. It comes with being a Titan and a princess."

Sarah's eyebrows shot up, and Raven and Cyborg glared at the changeling, who promptly took another bite of his pizza and looked away. "So, her absence has something to do with her being a princess?" She smirked at her boyfriend. "I'm getting closer guys, why don't you just tell me? You can trust me."

"Baby… I trust you, but —"

"Oh no, not the 'but!'" Sarah huffed in annoyance. "I get that you're a superhero and you wanna protect your friends, but you can trust me!"

Raven and Beast Boy shifted awkwardly, with the latter regretting his choice to crash their date. Cyborg desperately searched for words and prayed for a miracle. "Look, baby, I do trust you! It's just that Starfire's mission is really touchy and she happens to have some very dangerous enemies who will do anything to find out where she is and why she's doin' it! Enemies who are super powerful and will harm anyone close to her to get information out of them, that's why only a few of the other Titans —"

"Other Titans?! Like who?"

"Don't answer that…" Beast Boy muttered, and Raven nodded beside him.

Talking to girls was extremely difficult… No wonder it took Robin so long to ask Starfire out. The cybernetic teen gulped. "Um… Just a few of Star's closest friends…"

"And Starfire and I aren't close? You know, she was the one who I talked to about you before we started going out, and she was the one I complained about you to!" Then something registered in her eyes. "Wait a minute… Is this because I'm not a superhero and I don't have any powers?"

Miraculously — albeit a little late for Cyborg — the T-Communicators simultaneously began to ring, and Cyborg quickly answered his. Robin's face appeared on the screen, but the image was hazy and the sound was warbled. "Titans… your way… get… safety!"

"Robin, you're breaking up, what's going on?" he shouted into his communicator.

The answer quickly came in the form of a mechanical tentacle wrapping itself around Sarah and forcefully lifting her into the air. A familiar, high-pitched cackle rang out in the air, and the Titans turned to find that the laugh and the tentacle came from none other than Gizmo. Robin was behind him, throwing bird-a-rangs and explosive discs at his mechanical legs and new tentacles, one holding a screaming Sarah Simms hostage.

"Hey, Cy-booger! Didn't know you had a hot girlfriend!" he snickered, bringing Sarah closer to his face. "Honestly, Blondie, whaddaya see in this guy?"

The Titans jumped into action, Robin joining them on the balcony of Pizza Corner. Cyborg snarled and charged his sonic cannon, aiming it at Gizmo's head. "Let her go, Gizmo!" Beast Boy stood beside his best friend and growled at the kid genius.

"Cyborg!" Sarah cried, wriggling in Gizmo's hold.

"Hold on, Sarah!" Robin yelled, twirling his bo staff. "Gizmo, let her go! She's just a civilian!" At this, Sarah glared. "No offence!"

"What do you want, Gizmo?" Raven shouted. "Your fight is with us, leave her out of it!"

Gizmo laughed mischievously. "You scrud-for-brains, this isn't your fight either! This is between me and Cy-booger, and he has something I want!"

"What do you want, Pint-Size?" Cyborg yelled.

Beast Boy coughed. "Uh, Cy? Leave the lame insults to him."

"Look, you do-goodin', good-for-nothing Titans, I only want Cyborg, not you guys! If you guys get in the way, then Blondie here gets it!" His mechanical tentacles shook Sarah violently for a few seconds before dangling her in front of Cyborg and then back to Gizmo's side.

Robin and Cyborg exchanged looks, before the Titans all stood aside and huddled in a circle. From what Sarah could see, Robin was making wild gestures with his hands, Beast Boy was shaking his head and tapping his foot, and Cyborg was muttering something angrily. Raven stood quietly, only putting a comforting hand on Cyborg's shoulder. Then they all nodded and went back to Gizmo, whose mechanical legs tapped impatiently.

"Well, Cy-Booger?"

Cyborg stood tall and unflinching as Gizmo stepped closer and stared him down. "The others will stand down. As long as you don't hurt Sarah. If you as much mess with a strand of hair on her head, you'll have to deal with Raven." Gizmo turned to the empath, who let her four demonic eyes through as a warning. The kid genius gulped. "Now what do you want, Gizmo?"

"I wanna have some fun and do whatever I want without you stinkin' Titans getting in the way!" he shouted. "So, here's the deal, Cy-Booger: I'm gonna go back to the H.I.V.E Five HQ with Blondie, and you're gonna find us without any help from your friends! Then, when you find HQ, you're gonna do exactly as I tell you and I don't wanna hear a peep out of ya! If you don't get there by six o'clock tonight or co-operate with me, then you can kiss Blondie good bye! Deal?" He stuck out his tiny little hand, and when Cyborg glared at him, he held out his other in the air, to prove that he wasn't crossing his fingers.

Sarah and the other Titans shook their head at the cybernetic teen, pleading with him to refuse, but Cyborg was adamant. "Deal." And with that, he took hold of Gizmo's hand in his and shook it. Gizmo let out a cackle before his mechanical legs retracted into his backpack and turned into rockets, carrying a screaming Sarah Simms off with him into the sky.

"Sarah!" Cyborg screamed, and he ground his teeth in frustration.

"Don't worry, Cyborg, we've got your back," Robin said. "I'll have security cameras all over the city tracking his every move —"

"No," the half-robot interrupted. "This is my mission. I never should've — This is my fault. And I need to fix it on my own."

Thousands of thoughts were running through his mind. Why was it so hard for a superhero to have a normal life? He'd already messed up his relationship with Sarah when they first started going out because of his missions, and just a few minutes ago they were having a spat about her trustworthiness. Now she was in danger just because she was his girlfriend. The other Titans who were dating didn't have this problem… but then again, all of them had superpowers. Biologically, Sarah was an ordinary human, and wasn't skilled in fighting and self-defence, and right now, that worried him. He'd have to have a serious talk with her when this ordeal was over.

Beast Boy let out a puppy-ish whimper as he regarded his best friend. "Be careful, okay?"

"If you need us, you know how to reach us," Robin said, putting a reassuring hand on his shoulder and giving him a firm nod. "We'll be ready for anything." Beside him, Raven stood with her expression as emotionless as usual, but the half-robot swore he saw a hint of worry in her eyes. It was evidence enough of her support and concern for him.

Cyborg looked each of his friends in the eye and smiled. While his spirit itself was strong, he was nothing without their support. The only thing missing was a certain alien princess and her bone crushing embraces and sunny smiles. The cybernetic teen sighed and tapped his fingers on the scanner in his arm to track down Gizmo. "I've got a lock on Sarah's cell phone signal and T-Com. I'll see you guys later." And with that, he ran off.

* * *

Back at Titans Tower, the remainder of the team watched as Cyborg urgently ran through the streets, a determined look etched on his features. Even from far away, Raven could sense the cybernetic teen's worry and fear for his girlfriend.

"Is she all right?" Beast Boy tentatively asked Raven.

Obviously, he was referring to Sarah. The empath closed her eyes and willed her soul self to find Sarah Simms. "I see her… She's fine. They haven't hurt her yet. All I'm getting from her is boredom… and a little bit of worry." The light in her eyes dimmed until she returned back to her normal state. "Funny. I was expecting more fear from her."

"It's the H.I.V.E Five, they aren't exactly a serious threat," Robin said, not turning away from the screen. "Although… Kidnapping and hostage taking aren't typical of them. Whatever Gizmo wants, it must be serious."

"I've never seen Gizmo so… _desperate,"_ Raven said dryly. "That's all I sensed from him when he took Sarah. Maybe there's something bigger that's threatening the H.I.V.E Five."

Robin nodded. "Maybe." He suddenly remembered that he had other things to worry about, and he began to leave the Main Ops room. "I'll be in Cyborg's room using his computer if you need any —"

"WHOA!" Beast Boy cried, hastily grabbing his cape. "Cyborg let _you_ use his computer?! How come every time I ask, he says no and kicks me out?"

Before Robin could answer, Raven spoke up. "Because the last time you sneaked into his room to use his computer, you put a virus in his charger and nearly killed him."

The changeling blushed sheepishly and let go of Robin's cape. Robin sighed and ran his fingers through his hair. "Call me if there's trouble."

When the Titans leader left the room, Beast Boy and Raven sat on the couch and went about their business, Raven grabbing a book and Beast Boy playing with Silkie, keeping the screen in their peripheral. These, of course, were merely to distract them from the situation at hand. And though she was hiding it well, Beast Boy's animal senses could tell that Raven was very worried for both Cyborg and Sarah Simms.

And before he could stop himself, Beast Boy broke the tense silence. "They'll be okay, Raven. It's Cyborg. Next to Star, he's got the strongest spirit out of all of us."

Violet eyes peered over the top of the book and met his green ones. There was no use hiding her concern for their friend, she concluded. "I know. I'm just thinking about how this is going to affect their relationship."

Beast Boy blinked. "What do you mean? They're happy together. I've never seen Cyborg so cheery, even when he's working on the T-Car."

The empath's tone was dry and serious, but her eyes reflected genuine concern. "Think about it. Sarah is a normal, average civilian. She has no superpowers, and no means of defending herself. Cyborg is half-human, half-robot, and a Teen Titan, and as Teen Titans, we have a lot of enemies. Powerful enemies, who'd do anything to get close to us. This may be Sarah's first kidnapping, but as long as she's close to Cyborg, it won't be her last. If Sarah is to stay safe, one of them will have to break it off."

The truth in his friend's words caused Beast Boy's ears to sag, but he kept a tentative smile on his face. "Maybe they won't have to. Maybe they'll find a way to make it work."

* * *

"Cludges! I can't get this spit-munching dingus to work!" Gizmo shouted from underneath a table as he attempted to put wires together for a large device resembling a ray. "Wykkyd, what the heck did you do to this thing?"

On the couch, Kyd Wykkyd simply shrugged and pointed to Mammoth, who hid behind a multi-layered submarine sandwich that towered over him. "Don't look at me, ask See-More!"

"I didn't touch it! Ask Billy!"

"We ain't done a thing to that fancy-shmancy doohickey!" the Billy Numerous clones defended as they played a board game on the floor. "Must've been Kid Flash, when he trashed our place!"

Inside a glass tube in the back of the room, Sarah sighed. Some bad guys they turned out to be. Hopefully Cyborg would find her soon… She was feeling more bored than anything else. "What are you guys fighting about?" she called.

All members of the H.I.V.E Five turned to their hostage, who grinned at them tauntingly. See-More and Mammoth turned to Gizmo, the assumed leader of the group. "None of your stinkin' beeswax, Blondie!" he screeched. "Just stay there and shut up!"

"I know this is my first time being kidnapped and I could be wrong, but isn't the purpose of kidnapping a civilian girl like me to mess with the hero and get information on him?"

The would-be villains stared at her blankly, before becoming slack-jawed. "Uh, Giz?"

Gizmo slapped his palm to his forehead and growled. "You snot-for-brains — Look, Blondie, we're only holding you as a ransom for Cyborg. His sweetie-pie in exchange for his super-advanced, highly valuable and super-cool tech!"

"Yeah!" Mammoth agreed, faltering slightly. "We want his tech! Uh… Why do we want his tech again?"

"Because, _Giant,_ he's got the best tech out there, and that's saying a lot coming from me! I WANT IT I WANT IT I WANT IT!"

Sarah pursed her lips, confused. "Aren't you supposed to be a kid genius? At least, that's what Cyborg told me."

"Did he? Aw, shucks!" Gizmo blushed, completely flattered. Then he shook it off. "Well I've tried making computers and stuff the way he does, but these_ crud-munching dummies_ keep breakin' em!" The other members of the group whistled innocently and looked away. "And with Cy-Booger's technology, we'll be able to do whatever we want!"

"Yeah!"

"And if he doesn't get to you by the time I finish this laser ray, he can kiss his pathetic —"

"But super awesome!" See-More interjected, before cringing in fear of Gizmo's deadly glare.

"He can kiss Titans Tower good bye! Once I'm done fixing this piece of scrud, it'll send a laser to our satellite in space, and then it'll redirect the laser straight to Titans Island and then _boom!_ No more do-gooding, slug-faced, pie-for-brains Teen Titans!" He let out a cackle, and the other H.I.V.E members hesitantly joined in. Then Gizmo stopped short. Behind the glass, Sarah had an amused smirk on her features. "Cludges! You got me monologuing! I'm not telling you anything else! You sneaky little —"

"Uh, Gizmo?" See-More asked shyly. He seemed to be filled with guilt and dread, his stomach tying up in knots and his heart pounding anxiously. "You sure about this? I mean, we've never gone this far before."

"Why am I not surprised?" Sarah quipped, her expression bored. Gizmo and Mammoth glared at her, but she had a plan. Sarah had to buy Cyborg some time. "So what are you going to do to me while I'm here, then? Keep me in this tube? Extract information out of me?" Sarah taunted.

The four other members of the H.I.V.E Five stared back at her, then turned to Gizmo expectantly. Though they'd committed many crimes as a group and even joined the Brotherhood of Evil for a little while, they'd never gone as far as taking someone — a civilian girl for that matter! — hostage.

Billy Numerous and his clones scratched their heads. "Uh… I reckon we do the last thing!"

"Yeah! That's what the big bad guys do, right Mammoth?" See-More asked, clearly unsure of what to do.

"Don't ask me, it was Gizmo's idea!"

"I'm busy! You guys do it!" Gizmo commanded, before turning his attention back to the laser ray.

See-More sighed sadly. "I wish Jinx was still here," he muttered.

"Forget about her," Mammoth snapped. "She's a traitor. Now let's get this over with." Turning to the girl in the glass tube, Mammoth cracked his knuckles while See-More fixated his laser eye on Sarah. Kyd Wykkyd stared at her emotionlessly through the glass, and Billy Numerous and two of his clones surrounded the tube.

Billy Numerous and his clones leered at Sarah. "All righty, missy, tell us what ya know about the Teen Titans, or my buddy See-More here will blast ya to bits!"

Sarah blinked. "Well, the Teen Titans are made up of Robin, Cyborg, Raven, Starfire, and Beast Boy, but now there's lots of Honorary Titans and other teams around the world."

"Whoa!" Billy 2 exclaimed in shock.

"You idiot! We already knew that!" Mammoth shouted, smacking his fist into Billy 2's head. "Tell us about Cyborg!"

"What do you want to know?" the girl asked.

"Anything!" See-More said, getting impatient. "Just talk! I really don't wanna blast you!"

Sarah bit her lip. "Anything, huh? All right, I'll talk. Well, Cyborg's favourite colour is blue, he likes to play _Super Marco Kart_ with Beast Boy — who, by the way, is his best friend — he knows a bit of Tamaranean, he loves his car, he likes to play baseball, and his biggest secret —" At this, the members of the team leaned in curiously and eagerly. Her voice dropped to a loud and exaggerated whisper. "His biggest secret is… he — oh, he'd kill me if I told you this — he wasn't born a cyborg."

"No way!"

"Really?!"

"Well butter me up and fry me in a pan!"

"…"

"Ah! You blockheads! Nobody is born a cyborg!" Gizmo shrieked angrily. The pint-sized genius then began to mutter pseudo-obscenities under his breath before slapping his forehead and wiping his face. "Ah! Forget this! Just hit the mute button! I don't wanna hear another word out of ya, Blondie! Let's just wait for Cyborg. See-More, activate the security systems! The rest of ya, don't go anywhere near Blondie!" The rest of the members of the H.I.V.E Five scattered around the main room and went back to their business, whether it was eating, cheating at board games, reading, or polishing eyes.

Inside the glass case, Sarah heard a loud beep, indicating that the prison had now become soundproof. She couldn't hear what was going on outside, and they most definitely couldn't hear what she was doing. Perfect. Reaching into her pocket, Sarah dug out her T-Communicator (after much begging on Cyborg's part, Robin had finally given her one as a precaution, not as an Honorary Titan) and was surprised to find that she was still getting signal. Did T-Communicators even need a strong signal to reach each other? She slid onto the floor and curled into a ball, turning her head away from the teen villains.

"Sarah Simms calling Cyborg!"

Almost instantly, her boyfriend's face appeared on the screen. "Sarah! Are you okay? I'm on my way, just tryin' to get in! Did they hurt you?"

Sarah couldn't help but giggle. "I'm fine, I'm stuck inside this glass tube in the H.I.V.E hideout, and no they haven't hurt me. Unless dying of boredom counts?" Cyborg snickered as he blasted a droid that was shooting lasers at him. "How did you figure out where I am?"

"The H.I.V.E Five's secret hideout ain't exactly a secret, baby. We found out where it was a long time ago, before I went undercover in the H.I.V.E Academy. But the laser shootin' droids and the trapdoor leading to piranha pit are new — OW!" He stopped to yank a piranha out of the metal part of his shoulder and laughed. "It also helps that Gizmo forgot to search you for your cell phone and T-Com."

"Something tells me that it's the H.I.V.E Five's first time taking a hostage," she joked.

All jokes aside, Cyborg's expression became serious. "Listen, Sarah —"

Without warning, the glass tube lifted up from the base and the T-Communicator was encased in a pink bubble, bouncing away from Sarah's hand. All eyes of the H.I.V.E Five were on her, and Gizmo was fuming.

"And just what do you think yer doin', missy?" one of the Billy clones taunted.

"Cludges! You have one of those things too?! Who was in charge of searchin' her?"

See-More took a sudden interest in digging his toe in the ground, Mammoth whistled innocently, Kyd Wykkyd stood quietly, and Billy Numerous' clones were pointing fingers at everyone, including himself.

"What did they teach you guys in the H.I.V.E Academy?" Sarah asked, smirking.

Stammering, See-More replied, "Uh… uh… I s-skipped Hostage Taking 101… Gizmo and Kyd Wykkyd took it."

The silent villain shrugged and pointed to Gizmo, who glowered at everyone as his mechanical legs made him tower over all in the room. "I was busy with the stinkin' laser ray! I put one of these clowns in charge! I just… can't remember who…"

On the main screen — which still had cracks in it thanks to Kid Flash — security footage of Cyborg blasting his way through the tunnels leading to the H.I.V.E hideout played.

"Aw, man! It took me weeks to make those droids!" Gizmo complained. His mechanical legs carried him to the main computer and typed in some codes. "Aw, give it up already, tin can! Quit blasting my security systems!" he yelled into the intercom. Instantly, the droids, mechanical piranhas, and motion detecting lasers deactivated, and a hexagonal door in front of Cyborg. "Just get in here! That stuff you broke ain't cheap!" The half-robot quirked his eyebrow at him suspiciously. "All security systems are down, crud-for-brains! Just walk in!"

Moments later, the cybernetic Titan — scratches, scorch marks, and indents resembling teeth all over his metallic body — walked through the doors to the main room wearing his charged sonic cannon and a confused expression on his face, one that melted into relief the second his eyes found Sarah.

It was then that Gizmo remembered that he was a villain. "All right, quit your goo goo eyes, Cy-booger!" he screeched, and he gestured to Mammoth, who instantly grabbed the blonde civilian and locked her in his big arms.

Cyborg rolled his eyes and sighed exasperatedly. "Let's get this over with. What's your deal, Gizmo?"

The pint-sized kid genius cackled evilly. "What's my deal? I'll tell ya what my deal is!" The H.I.V.E Five members gathered around the Titan, encircled and closed in on him, and grinned mischievously. "All right, barf-brain, what's the thing that I'm most infamous for?"

"Bein' a pint-sized, potty-mouthed brat?"

The members of H.I.V.E Five snickered, and Sarah giggled. Gizmo shut them all up with a glare. "No, you oversized stinkin' tin can! Technology! Computers! The important things in life! Anyway, ever since that snot-mouthed Kid Flash trashed our place, I haven't been able to fix everything yet. And every time I try to fix our computers and TV, some _blockhead_ wrecks it!"

"So what do you want me for? You already know there ain't no way I'm giving you my technology," Cyborg retorted angrily.

"You don't think I know that, tin can? All I want you to do is fix it because…" Gizmo faltered sheepishly, hesitance taking over his villainous determination. "See-More, you tell him!"

The kid genius shoved his colleague forward with a mechanical tentacle that sprouted out of his backpack, and See-More gulped. "Well, you see… There's this team in Japan that we really wanna beat on_… _um… _Super Ninja Matrix…_ and we're supposed to face them at six o'clock tonight but… um… our… um… TV, Internet, and game station are busted… so…" His cheeks reddened and he hid behind Gizmo at the sight of Cyborg's human eye twitching.

The cybernetic Titan stood tall and rigid, clearly taken aback. Slowly, his face heated up with his anger until he was nearly purple, and Sarah cringed. "So let me get this straight: You terrorized the city, kidnapped my girlfriend, and put me through all that just so I could fix your _video game console?!_ Ever heard of a _repairman?_" Steam seemed to pour out of his ears and he resembled a furious mechanical bull, ready to charge. "Why you —"

_"PLEASE?!" _Gizmo screeched pleadingly, his hands clasped together. The other H.I.V.E members followed suit. "We were so close to beating those fart-brains last time! Please, please, please?! You know I don't beg!"

Cyborg sighed. All this for a video game? Part of him could somewhat relate, after all, how many fights between him and Beast Boy were caused by the game console malfunctioning? Then again, they kidnapped Sarah. They put her life and countless others in danger. And they _really_ pissed him off. "All right, I'll fix it, but on a few conditions."

"Name 'em!"

Holding up one finger, he stated, "First, you free Sarah and swear on your little lives that you'll never hurt her or touch her — you'll never even go _near _her again!" The H.I.V.E Five nodded eagerly, and Mammoth released her from his hold. The civilian girl immediately ran to recover her T-Communicator before she joined her boyfriend by his side. "Second, you don't tell me how to fix it. If I'm to fix it, I do it _my_ way. Got it, Gizmo?" The kid genius pouted, but nodded reluctantly. "And _third —"_ Cyborg paused for a moment to give them his most intimidating, deadliest glare, causing the would-be villains to recoil "— blastin' my way in here sure made me hungry so if you could order me a meatball sub supreme and Sarah a philly cheese steak sandwich without onions at the Jump City Deli for dinner, that'd be great!" He then put his arm around his girlfriend and flashed a big smile. "Oh, and a side of fries and two diet colas to drink!"_  
_

Gizmo's left eye twitched, before he crossed his arms and pouted, muttering pseudo-curses under his breath. "I hate it when I don't get my way! Wkykkyd, get his stinkin' dinner!"

Before the silent villain could teleport out, Cyborg grabbed his shoulder. "And ya better pay for it! I ain't eating a stolen meal!" Kyd Wykkyd huffed, then phased out.

After Kyd Wykkyd came back with Cyborg and Sarah's dinner — with a receipt as proof of payment — Cyborg went to work on the H.I.V.E's Internet router and computer. "Ya know, instead of committing a felony, did simply asking _nicely _ever occur to you?" Cyborg asked as he toyed with some wires on the H.I.V.E television set. In place of his fingers were various tools and clamps, putting together wires at a pace a thousand times faster than Gizmo ever could.

Sarah giggled as Mammoth, Billy Numerous, See-More, and Gizmo rubbed their necks sheepishly. Then a thought occurred to her. "You know, you don't have to be bad guys forever. You could put your talents to good use. Instead of hurting people to feel better about yourselves, maybe you could help people."

_"Ha!"_ Gizmo scoffed. "What makes you think that we feel bad about ourselves?"

"Well, I'm a counsellor at a camp for kids with disabilities, and there are some kids who pick on each other because they're insecure about themselves, and that's what I see here," Sarah replied. "Besides, you guys seemed to hold back from hurting me, almost like you thought it was wrong."

See-More fiddled with his fingers. "Well…"

"You know, there's always room in my _New Teen Titans_ training program," Cyborg offered as he finished with the television set and moved onto the game station. "All we need from applicants are a resume, a criminal record, some DNA samples, a signed waiver indicating that we're not responsible for any injuries or accidents in the program, and for you to take the traitor tests. Simple, right?"

"Like we'd ever be stinkin' Titans!" Gizmo spat.

"Yeah!" Mammoth huffed. "We're not exactly Titan material!"

"And we're not heroes… we're bad guys," See-More added, Kyd Wykkyd nodding beside him. "I mean, what kind of good can our powers do?"

Pausing, Cyborg looked up in disbelief. Then he laughed. "You know, that's exactly what I thought when I got my cybernetics. Raven, too, before we formed the Teen Titans. And let's not forget Jinx." A hush fell upon the room, and the would-be villains refused to make eye contact. "Look where bein' bad guys got y'all. You've had your butts handed to you a million times _and _you were flash-frozen with the rest of the Brotherhood of Evil."

"It doesn't always have to be this way," Sarah said. "You can still make the right choice."

Another tense silence fell upon the room, until Cyborg retracted his tools and stood up. "Looks like we're done here. Knock yourselves out. C'mon, Sarah." He took his girlfriend by the hand and began to lead her out of the room. "Winning combo is up, up, down, left, B, left, down, right, A, B, up, left."

Snickering with excitement, the H.I.V.E Five ran to the couch and picked up their consoles, while Gizmo cracked his knuckles and scampered to the main computer. "Sucker!"

"And don't even think about hackin' into any banks or doin' nothing evil with that computer!" Cyborg called over his shoulder from the doorway. "I put up some really strict Parental Controls that only _I_ can override. I also disabled your laser ray. Have fun!"

_"FUDGE!"_

* * *

"So close, so close…" Robin muttered to himself as he hunched over the keyboard and studied the files on Cyborg's computer. The secret government database had found one match for Deathstroke, but the only file containing the name was password-protected and he was having difficulty overriding it. He had one last try before he was caught. "Think, think…" Then he remembered that Cyborg had a hacking device hidden somewhere in his room. The Teen Wonder jumped to his feet and searched Cyborg's room until he finally came across the device.

"Finally!" Robin plugged the device into the computer, which beeped as its keys lit up and typed something into the computer. The file unlocked to reveal a soldier's profile, with a picture of a man with white hair and a scar across his eye. It was the familiar name, however, that had Robin reeling in shock.

Robin scrolled down the file until he came across the highlighted "Deathstroke," which was a subsection under the soldier's profile. "Project Terminator," he murmured. "A secret military experiment that attempted to create metahuman supersoldiers for the US army… He defied orders and went against the army to rescue someone…" The name of the person he had rescued had been blocked out in black. It seemed that someone had gone to great lengths to keep Deathstroke a secret, even erasing his alterego from legal existence.

"Mercenary. Assassin. Went by the name of Deathstroke the Terminator. Disappeared in 2000. Family… _family?"_ Apparently, this soldier had a family; a wife and two kids. Listed under "Children" was another familiar name.

"Holy secret origins, Batman…"

* * *

Blackfire sighed as she put the finishing touches on the final cube. Her blackbolts effortlessly sealed the edges and engraved her partner's name on one face, and once she finished, she turned to Deathstroke. "You know, I'm getting really bored of these games, partner _dear_."

"Then it's a good thing that this the last piece of the puzzle, princess," Deathstroke replied as he strode over to the device. His eye trailed over it in admiration, and he let his fingers trace the edges of the cube. "Extraterrestrial technology… Amazing. I never would have dreamed of creating something this destructive myself."

"Oh please, this is nothing," Blackfire said dismissively. "Wait til you see the Sun-Eater. Truly a masterpiece, that thing. It's absolutely terrifying, you'd love it."

This caught Deathstroke's attention. "The Sun-Eater? From your plan? Ah, my dear princess, if there's one thing I don't care for, it's space travel. No, I'll leave that to you. Besides, this phase of our plan is nearly complete. I've detected that our dear friend Robin has just hacked the classified government database. He's getting closer to solving the puzzle. There's just a few more pieces, one of which I'll need to get to before he does."

"Finally! Something for me to do besides scribble your name on these stupid things!"

Deathstroke chuckled and took Blackfire's face into his hands, squishing her cheeks. "Oh no, I don't trust you to go out there on your own. Too tempting for you. Wherever your sister is, you'll go after your sister and that might ruin our plans, little girl. She cannot know that we're working together." Blackfire shot her eyebeams at him, releasing herself from his hold. Unfazed, he readjusted his mask. "Besides, you have your family matters attend to, and I have mine. I need to pay a visit to my son."

* * *

When the doors to the Main Ops room of Titans Tower opened, Sarah and Cyborg froze in their tracks at the sight before them.

"I don't believe it…" Sarah muttered, blue eyes wide with shock.

"How is he still _alive?!"_ Cyborg cried, and he turned to his girlfriend. Suddenly, a mischievous grin spread on his features, and the two crept over to the couch.

In the green form of a kitten, Beast Boy was curled up in a ball on the couch fast asleep. Now, that was a typical sight for Cyborg, but what was most shocking was the fact that Raven sat in the lotus position with her eyes shut, her right hand absentmindedly stroking his head as she meditated. With his artificial eye, Cyborg took a picture, before he stood in the centre of the room with his arm around Sarah and took a deep, exaggerated breath.

"Well, _all right!"_ he shouted happily, jolting the sleeping Titans awake and screaming. Beast Boy screeched and morphed back into his human form, while Raven's hair flew about and dark energy sparked out of her eyes. Both were beet red. "Morning, y'all! What did we miss?"

"Cyborg!" Beast Boy cried joyfully, and he jumped up to hug him. "Sarah! You're all right! Told ya they'd be okay, Rae-Rae!"

Raven scowled. "I told you not to call me that. And glad you're okay, Sarah."

"Thanks Raven," Sarah replied, beaming.

The atmosphere was tense, and Raven took the hint. "Come on, Beast Boy. I'm sensing that these two need to have a serious talk." She grabbed the stammering changeling by the ear and dragged him out of the room.

Sarah had a confused expression on her face. "A serious talk? What's wrong, Vic?"

The use of his personal nickname made Cyborg's heart beat faster, but he cleared his throat. Where to begin? There was no way she'd be safe if she kept seeing him. There were worse villains out there, more dangerous enemies, and any one of them would use her to get to him and the Titans. There was no going back to his life before his accident, that was for sure, and he was foolish to hope that he could ever be normal with her, even if she made him feel that way. Sometimes it sucked to be a hero.

"Look, Sarah… About today —"

"Oh, no, I know that tone. You're going to break up with me to keep me safe from other bad guys, aren't you?" She glared at him and crossed her arms defiantly. "Well you can't let me go that easily, and I'm not letting you go again. I knew what I was getting into when I started dating you, and I'm okay with that!"

"I thought I could have a normal life with you, but I can't! I'm a Titan! Normal isn't a possibility for me! You should get out while you still can. You'll never have a normal life with me around."

"Since when have I ever cared about normal? I work with kids with disabilities and I'm perfectly fine with them! I love them all to death! They're not considered normal and I'm around them all the time. Just because you're a superhero, doesn't mean you're any different."

"I don't wanna put you in danger again!" Cyborg cried, his voice breaking ever so slightly. "Just because you're datin' me doesn't mean you should expect to get hurt!"

"I know the risks of dating a superhero and I'm more than happy to take them if it means being with you!" Sarah's voice dropped, and she held Cyborg's face in her hands, stroking both the flesh and the metal gently. "I'm not some helpless damsel, Cyborg. I know how to look out for myself. Like it or not, I want to be in your life, no matter what it takes."

The cybernetic teen's gaze softened, and he took Sarah's hands in his. "How 'bout we sign you up in our _New Teen Titans_ program? There are lots of new recruits who don't have superpowers, and you can improve your fighting skills. You'll be training with the best and be able to kick butt in no time. Doesn't mean you _have_ to be a Titan if you don't want to, though."

"Sounds good," she replied. "I'll have to make time for it in the fall, when school starts up again." The two closed their eyes and leaned in for a kiss, only to be interrupted by the doors to the ops room bursting open, followed by a frantic Robin and a confused Beast Boy and Raven.

"Titans!" Robin yelled as he ran into the living room with rolls of paper and a usb. "Emergency meeting! Cyborg, good to see you, call Starfire! Raven, lock down the Tower! Beast Boy, close the windows! Sarah, glad you're okay — Sarah?!" He stared at her in disbelief, surprised by her presence. "Um… This is kinda… confidential… top-secret…"

At the sight of Sarah's disappointed expression, Cyborg put his arm around her waist and pulled her closer. "It's all right, Rob. I trust her. She's gonna get enlisted in the NTT program, if it makes you feel any better."

Robin's face hardened, but he nodded slowly. The shields on the windows overlooking the ocean closed and put the Tower into darkness, and the main screen activated with Starfire smiling at them.

"All systems locked," Raven said. "No one besides Starfire can contact the Tower or intercept our frequency. This must be a really big deal, Robin."

"Friends, what is happening?" Starfire asked, confused. "Oh, hello friend Sarah! Cyborg and Robin must trust you very much if they allowed you to be present at such an important meeting!" Sarah giggled.

The Titans leader plugged his usb into the main computer, and a hologram activated from the centre of the living room. "I used Cyborg's computer to find out more about Deathstroke, and came up with this." The soldier's profile appeared in the middle of the room, along with a picture of a masked man armed with guns and swords.

"Dude… you didn't hack into the secret government database, did you?" Cyborg said quietly.

"I had to. Anyway, I didn't find any connections to the Deathstroke Cubes, but at least we now know who's sending them."

"So this Deathstroke… we have faced him before, then, under a different alias," Starfire concluded, and Robin nodded gravely.

Robin proceeded to inform the others of what Starfire had told him about the song on the cubes and Deathstroke's origins as a soldier. Then he turned to Starfire. "Star, I know you know something about these cubes. You have to tell us. It could be imperative to the case."

The Tamaranean princess bit her lip. This was a side of Robin that Starfire disliked and feared, but she had to succumb if it meant keeping him calm and sane. She gulped. "I have seen it once before, during my enslavement with the Citadel." She took a deep breath, flashing back to her dark past.

"The day I had escaped the Gordanians was the day that they were taking me back to them after years with them and the Psions. The Citadel and the Gordanians had taken me from Tamaran at a very young age, long before I escaped to Earth. Those devices — Those cubes… They are similar in appearance to a weapon used by the Citadel to threaten my parents into giving me up. After that, I was a slave to the Gordanians, in preparation for the Citadel. I was then sent to the Citadel for a few years, before the Psions captured me and experimented on me. Then the Gordanians recaptured me and were returning me to the Citadel. It was that day that I decided to escape.

"But while I was with the Psions, I saw that cube once more in their laboratories. I do not know exactly what it is for, but I know that it is a lethal weapon designed for complete and utter destruction. It became apparent that they had planned to test it on Tamaran." Tears were sliding down her cheeks, and Robin immediately regretted grilling her.

There was a tense silence before Robin spoke up. "I'm sorry, Star."

"It is all right. I should not have hidden the truth from you when lives may be at stake," she said quietly.

"I don't get it," Beast Boy said, scratching his head. "If he's some supersoldier gone rogue, what does Deathstroke have to do with these cubes?"

"Isn't it obvious?" Raven said. "The Citadel stabbed Starfire with one of Deathstroke's knives, and now their alien scientists are sending the Titans cubes with his name on them. They're working together. We just don't know why."

Sarah cringed. "Maybe I shouldn't have stayed here…"

Robin shook his head. "It's all right, Sarah. If Cyborg trusts you, I trust you. Just be careful. Anyway," Robin paused to scroll down the profile until he came across the subcategory "Children."

"This dude has kids?!" Beast Boy cried. "Great! More evil supersoldiers out to kill us!"

"Wait just a second, Beast Boy." Robin double tapped on the names of the children, and two faces popped up. All in the room — and telecommunicator — gasped.

"Dude…"

"It cannot be!"

"No way…"

"No…"

Robin nodded. "They might be targeted by their father, and we have to protect them _now._ We need to call Jericho."

* * *

_Author's Notes:_

_1) Robin's getting closer! You'll find out more in the next episode, which I'll be feverishly writing while I'm in New York! __In spirit of the Teen Titans show, I've decided not to outwardly say who Deathstroke the Terminator is, but you all probably know already._

_2) In the original comics, Sarah Simms does get kidnapped by Deathstroke the Terminator and their relationship gets tested, and there have been other occasions where Sarah's been almost harmed because of her association with Cyborg. I thought I'd bring some of that in, but with a less deadly opponent, and since Sarah Simms and Cyborg never become anything more than good friends in the DC Universe (aside from a few times when they dated), I thought I'd change that._

_3) The H.I.V.E Five, while villains, aren't exactly cruel and merciless (at least in the show). I never saw them as the type to take innocent people hostage, which is why they are uneasy with holding Sarah prisoner until Cyborg gets to them. Even Gizmo, since this scheme was only a "last-resort" kind of thing_

_4) You know that video game that Cyborg plays in "Only Human" against ATLAS, and then it appears again in TTG Issue #20? They never mention the name so I just made it up (unless they did and I totally missed it, if you know it, please let me know!) Anyway, "Super Ninja Matrix" is that game, and the winning combo probably makes no sense because I made it up_

_5) We don't know a lot about Sarah in the TTG comics and I don't know her original comics self that well, except that she and Cyborg only dated a couple of times. I tried to give her a sassy college girl personality here, and I also want to show that she's not a damsel in distress (hence the title)._

_6) For the sake of the plot, I completely made up the Vegan language_

_Sorry if you catch any spelling or grammatical errors, I proofread this in a hurry… I feel like they're getting longer, but that's because half of these are thoughts… apologies, but I like to put myself in the character's shoes and show what they'd be thinking in these situations._

_Thank you so much for all your support! Really, I can't thank you all enough. Since you guys are so awesome, can we get some more follows on this story? (pwetty pwetty pweez with a Silkie on top)_

_I hope I don't disappoint you guys as the season progresses!_

_R & R, s'il vous plait!_

_Maribel ∞_


	9. Episode 8 - Family Ties

_A/N:_

_OMG A NEW EPISODE? IT'S BEEN AEONS!_

_Hi guys! So sorry that it took so long for me to update this! I was on vacation in New York and then school started up again and then I got really sick, but thanks so much for your patience! Your follows and reviews don't go unnoticed, as a matter of fact, I try to incorporate them into the story :)_

_I apologize if the last episode was really long, I'll try to keep them as short as possible, but again, half of them are internal thoughts and it probably moves at a faster pace than it seems._

_This episode will resume the central story arc, but will focus a bit more on Jericho. Oh, and guest-starring Titans North! Well, my version of Titans North, which consists of Red Star as leader, Kole, Gnarrk, Jericho, and Argent. I know in the TTG comics there's Firebird and Mirage, who presumably joined Titans North in the very last issue, but since that was only Starfire's nightmare and they really aren't mentioned after, I'm going to assume that they're still either training in Cyborg's NTT program or elsewhere. Besides, four to five seems to be the favoured number of team members in the show._

_[I'd imagine Jericho's sign dialogue would be shown in closed captions or something]_

_Summary: __Starfire and Wildfire visit Earth in the name of politics and alliances, and Starfire is thrilled to show her brother her home. However __Wildfire is not as enchanted by the strange planet as she is, especially her dangerous crime-fighting career. Jericho is targeted by a mysterious new enemy, reopening old wounds, uncovering secret connections, and risking his place in the Teen Titans._

_Disclaimer: Me no own no Teen Titans._

* * *

_Season 6, Episode 8 - Family Ties_

"We are here! We have arrived!" Starfire cried as the Tamaranean space cruiser landed on Titans Tower. She excitedly unbuckled her seatbelt and flew out the door, where she was greeted by the smiling faces of her friends, in greater number than she had expected. Along with the other members of her team, Sarah Simms and Más y Menos were there to witness her return.

It was not an actual return, per se, as Wildfire still had not been crowned Grand Ruler and the politics on Tamaran had not calmed down, but Galfore had been invited to a world summit hosted by the leaders of Earth's most powerful and influential nations in the name of intergalactic alliances. Since Wildfire was next in line and would be the one leading the planet in all its political affairs, Galfore suggested that the young Crown Prince attend the summit in place of him, accompanied by his sister, of course. Starfire was quick to inform her friends of her visit, dismissing all concerns that she was blowing her cover. She reasoned that it would not matter anymore, as it was already known throughout the galaxy that Wildfire would soon take the crown and there was nothing that anyone — especially Blackfire — would be able to do about it.

"Starfire!"

"¡Señorita Starfire!"

The alien princess giggled. "My friends! ¡Mis amigos! It is glorious to see you all!" Before she could fly towards her friends and boyfriend, a pair of supersonic-speedsters bombarded her with hugs and adoring kisses.

Not surprisingly, Robin growled. "That's enough, Más and Menos. You should be getting back to Titans East before Bumblebee finds out you've gone AWOL."

The twins reluctantly obeyed, muttering under their breath in Spanish, and Starfire took the opportunity to tackle her boyfriend with a hug.

"M'halkita! I have missed you greatly!"

Robin weakly put his arms around her waist, feeling his organs being smushed together. "Me… too… Star… _Air!"_

The others laughed. "Same old Starfire," Cyborg commented.

"And same old Robin," Raven added, smirking.

When the reunited Golden Couple began to make up for lost time in the form of lip contact, Wildfire stepped out of the space cruiser and smiled shyly at the Earthlings. Two Tamaranean soldiers followed after him, standing tall and rigid with their lethal-looking weapons.

"Is it not forbidden for out-worlders to touch the princess?" one guard said to Wildfire, readying his weapon.

The young prince nodded. "I thought so as well, but my sister seems to be making an exception for this one. Stand down, men. I have met this human before. He is of no harm to the princess."

"Me'antr, stand down," the other guard whispered to his partner. "Do you not remember that this boy is the one who uncovered Blackfire's plot with the Drenthax army?"

Meanwhile, the changeling whined impatiently. "I might regret this later, but _dude, _we haven't seen Star in a long time either and we want a turn hugging her!"_  
_

Robin reluctantly pulled away and glared at Beast Boy, who ignored him and ran straight for Starfire. Except this time, a certain empath had phased through the ground in front of him and beat him to their favourite alien friend.

"_Ra_ven! No fair!"

"You snooze, you lose," Raven quipped. She then smiled at Starfire and pulled her into a sisterly embrace. "Welcome home, Starfire. Even if it's just for a little while."

Starfire was careful to control her strength, as these moments with Raven were rare and the last thing she wanted was to mar them by crushing her friend's internal organs. "I have missed you Raven!"

_"Star!"_ Beast Boy whined, fidgeting impatiently.

Giggling, Starfire pulled away from Raven and opened her arms for the changeling. "Of course —"

"My turn!" Cyborg announced, bumping his best friend aside and gathering up the alien princess in his arms. "Hello, lil' lady!"

"Cyborg!" Starfire hugged her friend so hard that she dented his shoulders. "Oh no!"

The cybernetic teen laughed, unharmed. "It's all right, Star. Nothing I can't fix. Besides, it was worth it."

Beast Boy huffed. "Finally —"

"I'm next!" Sarah cried, throwing her arms around Starfire. "Sorry, Beast Boy! I've gotta go back to work soon!"

"Gah! I'm never gonna get my turn!"

"I'm sorry, Beast Boy," Sarah said when Starfire finally released her. She rubbed her sides gingerly and winced. "_Now_ it's your turn."

Starfire held her arms open to embrace her green friend. "Come here, Beast Boy!"

"Yes!" Beast Boy bounded towards Starfire, only to bump into the shaft of a Tamaranean guard's weapon. "No!"

"I am sorry, green one, but we cannot allow any more out-worlders to touch the princess," the bulky brunet Tamaranean explained, glaring at him through his helmet.

Pouting, Beast Boy crossed his arms. "Aren't you guys the out-worlders here?" Another death glare, and Beast Boy morphed into a mouse and scurried behind Raven, who purposely stepped on his tail. _"Youch!"_

"I shall give you the hug later, Beast Boy," Starfire whispered.

"Welcome to Earth, Wildfire," Robin announced, stepping forward to shake the prince's hand. The guards stiffened, but Wildfire waved them off.

Wildfire beamed, floating in the air giddily. "Thank you, Robin! I am most excited to see the planet my sister speaks so highly of."

"Indeed!" Starfire added. "I cannot wait for you to play the video games and feast on the pizza and mustard and venture to the mall of shopping and meet all of my friends and —"

Robin laughed. "Easy, Star. You're only here for a week, and half the time you won't even be with us."

"Then we shall make the most of our visit by partaking in everything that my sister suggested," Wildfire concluded.

"I have the joy!" Starfire squealed, pulling her brother into a tight hug and into the air with her. "Come, friends! Let us give my brother a tour of the Tower and introduce him to all of our friends on the telecommunicator!"

* * *

"Gnarrk, for the _last _time, the toaster is not food!" Argent reprimanded the Neanderthal. She frowned at the toaster, which was now battered beyond repair. "Brilliant. My toast was in there."

Gnarrk whimpered and hobbled to the couch in shame, mumbling to the two Titans occupying it. Kole looked up from her controller and briefly petted her best friend's head. "There, there, Gnarrk. We can always get a new one. Argent, Gnarrk says he's really sorry and that he'll make it up to you by making you dinner." On the screen, Kole's ninja avatar died and the victory music for Jericho's played. "Hey! No fair! I wasn't looking."

Jericho smirked, doing a little victory dance before he turned back to Kole. _Are you up for another round?_

The crystalline-powered heroine returned the smirk. "Bring it on! I can take ya!"

"Has anyone seen Red Star?" Argent asked. "I mean, wouldn't we normally get a mission by now?"

At the same moment, the Titans North leader strode into the room, speaking into his T-Communicator. "_Da,_ I missed you too, Starfire! You were very much missed in the whole Titans network. Friends, do you wish to —"

"Starfire!"

Red Star found himself bombarded by his excited teammates, all fumbling for his T-Comm and yelling and waving excitedly to their dear alien princess. "Uh, I was going to put her up on the main screen —"

"I'll do it!" Argent cried, rushing to the telecommunicator and activating the call session. "Star! How're you doing, love? We've missed you heaps!"

On the screen, Starfire beamed happily at Titans North, with the rest of the founding Titans behind her. Wait… why were they all together? "_Argent! Kole! Gnarrk! Jericho! Red Star! It is good to see you all!"_

"Are you back from Tamaran?" Kole asked excitedly.

_"Only for a few days. Wildfire and I are here to participate in the world summit as Tamaran's representatives. But," _she turned to Robin and smiled even bigger, _"Wildfire will become Grand Ruler soon and then I shall return permanently!"_

"You better!" Argent joked. "While you were gone, your team has spent the last few months packing a sad!"

Starfire blinked in confusion. _"Why were my friends packing their sadness into a box?"_

"Ah, sorry love. Kiwi speak."

_"The fruit speaks?"_

"Anyway!" Kole interrupted, giggling at her friend's naivete to Earth slang. "Argent means that your team's been really depressed since you left. Especially Robin."

In the background, the Teen Wonder blushed and hid in his cape, earning him a gentle kiss from his girlfriend. Gnarrk grunted and rolled his eyes, and Jericho smiled.

_What are you going to do with your brother when you're not at the summit?_ he signed.

_"Oh, Beast Boy and Cyborg will teach him the video games, then we will have a pizza dinner, followed by a marathon of terrifying movies, and then we will take Silkie for a walk!"_

The founding Titans froze behind her. Cyborg dropped his sandwich, Beast Boy choked on his drink, Raven's eyes were as wide as dinner plates, and Robin's jaw came unhinged. Only Starfire and Wildfire remained unfazed.

Kole was the first to speak up. "What's wrong?"

_"Ah… Star?"_ Beast Boy croaked. _"How'd you understand Jericho?"_

Starfire smiled innocently. _"Oh, I absorbed his sign language just after the incident with Raven's clones of emotion. There have been many occasions where I decided to break the language barrier that I come across with some of our Titan friends."_

After what seemed like hours, Robin snarled, _"Which Titan friends?"_ His nostrils flared, his face burned red, and if one looked closer, steam was coming out of his ears.

Jericho and Red Star looked away from the screen, rubbing their necks and whistling innocently. Gnarrk, Kole, and Argent exchanged looks of confusion.

"What's all the hullabaloo about?"

_"Starfire doesn't exactly acquire languages… the conventional way,"_ Raven explained slowly, still recovering from her shock. She told them the story of how Robin and Starfire first met and the boy in Tokyo.

Red Star grinned mischievously. "It is not the big deal, Robin. Neither of us have any romantic feelings for Starfire. We only wanted to help. You should thank her. You now have a translator for when you speak with other Titans who do not understand English."

_"That doesn't mean you can kiss my girlfriend! You could have at least —"_

The buzzer for the front door sounded, and security footage of the mailman popped up onto the screen, just below Starfire's transmission.

_"Delivery for Jericho,"_ the mailman announced, tipping up his hat at the camera.

"Should we send him up?" Kole asked.

Jericho perked up, eager to get away from Robin's jealousy and possessiveness. _It's okay, I'll get it. __I'll be right back,_ he signed to his friends, before excitedly running out of the room. It had been a while since he'd gotten a package or even a letter, and they were always from his mother. Perhaps she'd finally replied to his last letter.

_Good afternoon,_ Jericho greeted.

"Hello Jericho," the mailman replied, lowering his voice. "Long time, no see."

_Pardon?_ He was sure they'd seen the mailman just the week before.

The mailman's hat dropped to the floor, and he pressed a button on his shirt. In seconds, the mailman transformed into a tall man with a black bodysuit and a black and copper mask. Jericho stepped back and put a hand on the security scanner, ready to run back inside. In the blink of an eye, the man stabbed a shuriken into it, and the Titans' alarms and defenses activated.

"Now, now, Jericho," he said, cracking his knuckles. "Don't you run from your father."

* * *

Red lights and emergency klaxons sounded in the Main Ops room, and the Tower's shields went up and obscured the mountain view.

"Security breach!" Red Star cried, floating over to a computer. Gnarrk dropped to the floor and began moaning, covering his ears to block out the unpleasant noise.

"Gotta go, Star!" Argent said, preparing to disconnect from their transmission.

_"Wait! Do you need our —"_

The screen went dark and Red Star began typing codes into the mainframe to access the security cameras. "No one has gotten into the Tower and nothing has been stolen. What could have possibly —"

Kole grabbed their leader's shoulder in a panic. "Where's Jericho? He hasn't come back from getting his mail!"

"No!" Red Star furiously typed codes into the mainframe, and security footage of the front door popped onto the screen. "He is not there! Kole, Gnarrk, go outside and search for Jericho! Argent, track his communicator!" The supersoldier cursed under his breath in Russian. How did he allow this to happen? He should have never sent Jericho to get the mail by himself, what with the mysterious packages that the Titans network kept receiving.

Red Star searched through the security footage of the front door until he saw the mailman being greeted by Jericho at the door. The smile on Jericho's face faded as the mailman's image fizzled into a tall and familiar enemy's. "Oh no…" The man then threw a sack over Jericho's head and tossed him onto his shoulder as he ran offscreen.

"What?" Argent asked, floating to her leader's side. "Who is that?"

The Russian supersoldier tensed, finally understanding Robin's pain. "That is Slade."

Argent gasped. "As in Robin's sworn archenemy? _The_ Slade? What's he doing here?"

"I am not sure, but he has Jericho. Do you have his location?"

"I tracked his T-Comm signal to somewhere in Los Angeles, a few hours away from Jump. Thank gosh he's still got it on him. What's the plan, captain?"

Red Star sighed grimly. "Get Kole and Gnarrk. We're going after him."

"But what about —"

"I will tell Robin myself." God, he felt like a failure. How did he allow a member of his team to get captured by Slade, the Teen Titans' worst enemy? Did Robin feel like this whenever his friends got hurt because of Slade? Well, Red Star was about to find out, whether or not he wanted to.

* * *

"But we must see if our friends need our assistance!" Starfire pleaded, floating next to her boyfriend as he paced in front of the main screen. "They could be under attack!"

Robin shook his head and sighed. "If they needed us, they would have asked by now. Besides, Red Star is a good leader. He can handle this. It's okay, Star." His gaze softened at her worried expression, and his eyes flickered to Wildfire and the royal guards. They must be bored out of their minds just standing around and watching the prince and princess, so he thought on his feet, albeit slightly distracted. "How 'bout we show Wildfire around the Tower?"

"You already did," Wildfire corrected, fumbling with the video game controller. Beast Boy sat next to him and tried demonstrating the proper usage of the controller, only to cause Wildfire's racing avatar to veer off the track and into a clump of cacti. "I do not understand the purpose of this game…"

"Don't you guys have races of any kind on Tamaran?"

Wildfire blinked. "Starfire and I sometimes challenge each other to races of flight, and then there is the Running of the Blirtiks…"

"Running of the wha?"

"It is similiar to the running of the bulls in Spain, except that blirtiks are much larger, with six legs and four horns, and carnivorous. Starfire and I participated in it just last week. It was… how do you Earthlings say it… awesome! There was this one blirtik who nearly chomped off Galfore's leg and I had to —"

"Okay!" Cyborg cried. He was in no way interested in hearing about Tamaran's crazy, death-defying traditions, no matter how much he missed hearing it from Starfire during her absence. Maybe it was because they weren't used to Wildfire yet; regardless, it was their duty to make him feel welcome. "So racing isn't your thing, no big deal. We can always move on to _Super Ninja Matrix_! You'll like this one, it's got lotsa fighting!"

Raven rolled her eyes and floated to the kitchen counter, where Starfire stood holding Silkie and watching the boys entertain her little brother. "So… how's Wildfire liking Earth so far?"

Starfire sighed. "I do not know. He does not seem at all entranced or excited by anything I've shown him, except for Silkie. He seems…"

"Bored?" Raven presumed, wincing a little. The alien princess nodded. "I'm sure he'll warm up to Earth. Just give him time. He's _your_ brother, after all."

"But Raven," Starfire breathed, her eyes shining sadly as she met the empath's gaze. "Blackfire was my sister, and Wildfire is my brother. We are all very different from each other. Wildfire seems to have finally found his home on Tamaran, and every day, his heart grows even fonder for our planet. It makes me happy to see him happy, but I am worried that he will not ever like Earth. He has asked me many times of my plans for after he is crowned Grand Ruler, and he seems crestfallen whenever I tell him that I will return here."

"Maybe he's just going to miss you."

"Maybe. But there was something about the —"

The defeated chime of the video game, followed by the victory music, sounded from the living room and Wildfire let out a cry of anger. "ARGH! You cheated!"

"No I didn't!" Beast Boy insisted. He drew up his knees and cowered in fear at the sight of the alien prince's eyes ablaze with bluebolts. "I just know how to play a lot better than you!"

Cyborg reached out to put a tentative hand on the prince's shoulder but thought better of it. "For once, I agree with Grass Stain, Wildfire. It's okay, man. It was your first time playing. I'm sure once you play more —"

"I do not like this game!" Wildfire yelled, throwing his controller onto the floor and smashing it to pieces.

Beast Boy gasped and knelt down to cradle the pieces in his hand. "Dude! You broke our controller!"

"Not cool, Wildfire," Cyborg added.

"Baby brother! That is not nice!" Starfire scolded, wagging her finger.

The alien prince whirled around to face his older sister and stared at her incredulously. _"Nice?! _What is this 'nice'?" He imitated her gesture and sighed exasperatedly. "It sounds very similar to _weak."_

"Another word for nice would be 'polite,' or 'pleasant,' or 'kind,'" Robin explained. He strode over to the couch and crossed his arms. "Not 'weak.' I know you're a prince and all, but you're a guest in our house and especially on our planet. That means you need to respect our rules and our belongings."

"You must apologize, baby brother," Starfire said. "It is all right, there is no shame in admitting that you were wrong. Beast Boy and Cyborg will forgive you only if you ask."

One of the Tamaranean guards cleared his throat and spoke up. "Pardon me, princess, but on Tamaran, Prince Wildfire does not need to apologize for anything. It is not expected of him to admit his wrongs."

"Well, we are not on Tamaran, are we, Me'antr?" Starfire's tone was challenging, causing the guards to stiffen. "I would have expected that esteemed warriors such as yourself and Thrya'glip-hr would be accustomed to adapting to the rules of the planet that you are visiting."

"Apologies, princess," the brunet guard said, genuflecting. His red-haired partner followed suit.

Wildfire grumbled, crossed his arms, and stared at the floor. "I apologize, Beast Boy and Cyborg. Sister, may I please speak with you?"

As Starfire nodded and floated towards her brother, Beast Boy grabbed her arm. "Hey, Star? What are the names of the guards again? And maybe in English?" Behind him, Robin, Cyborg, and Raven nodded in agreement.

The alien princess giggled. "The one with the brown hair is Me'antr, meaning 'Sharp Sword,' and the one with the dark red hair like Galfore's is Thrya'glip-hr, which means 'the last thing you will ever see.' He is famed for gouging out the eyes of enemies and prisoners of ill-repute, and Me'antr uses his sword to —"

The Titan theme beeped from Robin's T-Communicator, and simultaneously, the Titans' distress signal began chiming and blinking on the Titans' uniforms. Starfire gasped. "We have not had a distress signal since…"

Her boyfriend nodded gravely as he opened his T-Comm to answer a call from Red Star. "Robin here, what's happening?"

_"I am sorry friend,"_ Red Star began. The engine of the T-Ship 3 roared in the background. _"I had hoped that we could handle this on our own, but we need your help. We are well aware that you have more experience with Slade than we do."_

"We're always here to help," Robin replied. At the very mention of his archenemy's former name, he gritted his teeth. "What's Slade up to?"

_"He has Jericho!"_ Kole cried. _"He disguised himself as the mailman, and Jericho went to pick up a package from him and never came back."_

"Is that why your alarms went off during our last transmission?" Starfire asked, chewing on her nails.

_"Da. Fortunately, Jericho still has his T-Communicator. We have located him to somewhere close to Los Angeles, not too far from where you are. He is in an abandoned farmhouse out in the countryside."_

"We're on it. We'll get him back. But Red Star, there's something you should know…"

_"Whatever it is, I am sure it can wait. We must find Jericho_ now."

"All right." Robin closed his T-Comm and turned to the rest of his team. "You heard the man. Titans, go!"

"Wait!" Wildfire cried, grabbing his sister's arm. The Titans froze. "Is mission going to be dangerous?"

"Potentially," Raven answered.

Starfire shook herself out of her brother's grasp. "Do not worry, little brother. I have done this many times before. I am stronger than I look, you know." She flew to the door of the Ops Room and joined Robin's side.

The half-robot took pity on the prince, with his worried expression. "Don't worry 'bout it. My artificial eye can serve as a camcorder when needed. All I have to do is press a few buttons and type in a few codes and you'll be able to see how Star's doing. So literally, I'll be keeping my eye on her. It's all right, Wildfire. She's in good hands, not that she needs them."

"You will not allow anything to happen to her?"

"She's my little sister. I'd die before I let anything happen to her. All of us."

"Promise?"

With an incredulous look, Cyborg turned and ran off to join the team, punching codes into his arm as he left the room.

In seconds, the main screen blinked to life with the shaky image of Cyborg running to catch up to the Titans and start the T-Car. He shouted to Starfire, who sweetly waved at her baby brother through the camera. Wildfire sank onto the couch, not tearing his eyes away from the screen until Silkie crawled into his lap and made warbling noises to get his attention. He didn't have a good feeling about this, but it was nice to have some company.

* * *

When Jericho was finally dumped out of what was most likely a potato sack, he found himself staring up into the eye of the Teen Titans' worst enemy. He contemplated possessing his body, but he knew that would do him no good. Slade was no ordinary human and would probably still have control over his body with Jericho in it.

"Welcome home, son," he began, his eyes as expressionless as his tone. "I've noticed that you've become involved with the Titans. Did I never teach you to avoid making those kinds of friends? Who knows how they've influenced you since I've been gone."

Tensing, Jericho looked away and took in his surroundings. Sunlight peeked through the cracks in the boarded up windows, paint was peeling off the walls, and any remaining furniture had been done away with by moths and time. An abandoned house, of course. If he still had his T-Communicator on him, his friends would find him in no time.

_You were never my father to begin with, Slade._

"Hm, I'd have thought you were more familiar with my current incarnation. I'm hurt. Slade is a past life for me. I've moved on to bigger things, son."

_ You abandoned us, left us alone to fend for ourselves. Mother didn't know what to do with herself. Rose wanted so desperately to bring you back home._

"And you ran away to Tibet until you were found by the Titans. Really, Jericho, do you think you're any better than me?" Jericho clamped his eyes shut and turned away. "I am not here to discuss the past, son. I have a proposition for you. It won't cost you much, and I can guarantee that you'll be able to use your powers for a better purpose."

_Whatever it is, I'm not interested.__ The Titans are my family now._

"You don't know what family is."

_I know it better than you do._

Before he could defend himself, Jericho was thrown onto his back with his cheek stinging and his lip bleeding. "Watch your tongue, Jericho. Oh, that's right, you can't."

_No thanks to you._

He faltered for a moment before his gaze hardened again. "That was not my fault. But those days are behind me. I'm here to discuss your future. You cannot go on being with the Titans. Look where being a Titan got Terra."

_Again, no thanks to you._

"I have a dream, Jericho. I know that doesn't sound much like me, but let me continue. I'm afraid I cannot disclose too much information with you, as I'm not sure where your loyalty lies. But my goal is to change the way the world works, to destroy the Titans and everything that they hold dear. There's a place in my plan for you, my son, and if you should join me, I can get you your voice back." Jericho looked up, both horrified and intrigued. "I knew that would get your attention. I finally have the technology to give you back your voice. You'll be able to talk and laugh and sing as much as you desire, but only if you join me. Think about it, Jericho. Father and son conquering the world and establishing a legacy that will be remembered for generations to come. The Titans can't give you that. They won't even _consider_ it."

To speak again… To sing again… Jericho had dreamed about it for years. No more language barriers because of his muteness, no more having to make odd gestures to express himself, finally being able to tell Kole how he felt…

But at what cost?

Jericho rose to his feet and met his father's eye. He knew in his heart what he had to do, and he was ready to face the consequences. He didn't even need to make any gestures. All he did was shake his head.

"No?" He stepped back, a little shocked. Then his glare intensified. "Oh. I see. My little boy all grown up and making decisions for himself, thinking that he knows best? Jericho, Jericho, Jericho. When will you open your eyes and see the truth? Look around you. Look at the home you left behind. Don't you recognize it?" Jericho's eyes widened. "Of course this is the home you grew up in. Did you think I'd take you to my secret base of operations without being certain where your loyalties lay? You could have been greater than the Titans. But I guess that's your choice."

_We're done here, "father,"_ he signed, taking out his T-Communicator. Thank goodness it was still intact. _I'm turning you in to the Titans._

"My, my, aren't you noble. Unfortunately, my son, you won't get the chance to." At the push of a button, robot commandos burst out of the walls and floors and surrounded Jericho. "If you survive, perhaps we'll speak again —"

A green beam of light blasted through a wall and obliterated a whole row of robot commandos. "You will leave him alone!"

The founding Teen Titans as well as Titans North appeared beside her, ready to engage in battle. They spread throughout the room until each were an equal distance to the next Titan, completely surrounding the robot commandos and blocking all exits. Jericho scrambled to his feet and joined his team, earning a relieved smile from Kole and a friendly pat on his back from Argent.

"Long time, no see, _Slade_," Robin quipped, a devilish smirk on his face. With the team whole again, he felt invincible. "Miss us?"

"Uh, I thought he was _Deathstroke_ now," Beast Boy added, confused.

Deathstroke chuckled. "So you've finally figured out who I am. Congratulations. You must feel very accomplished, Robin."

"Ah, Robin? What are you talking about?" Red Star inquired. "Is this not Slade?"

"Of all people, I would have thought you Titans would have understood the concept of aliases." His eye searched the room until it found Starfire. "Welcome back, princess. Did you enjoy your time away from Earth? You were missed by friend and foe alike, especially one in particular."

"Spare us of your riddles, coward," Starfire hissed, her eyes ablaze with starbolts. "You kidnapped our friend and attempted to harm him. You will not get away this time." She nodded to Robin, who smiled back.

Red Star cleared his throat. "May I say it, friends?"

"Be my guest."

"Titans, _go!_"

The Titans who could fly remained in the air, blasting as many robot commandos as they could. Radioactive energy, plasma rays, starbolts, and dark energy exploded everywhere and destroyed about half of the army. The rest of the Titans went after Deathstroke, with a vengeful Jericho in the lead.

Cyborg turned his attention away from blasting a commando with his sonic cannon to look for Starfire. He gasped as one crept up to her while her back was turned, a charged gun in his hands. "Star! Look out!"

At the sound of her friend's voice, Starfire whirled around in time to see the red laser gun pointed to her head. The robot commando fired, and at the same time, Starfire blasted him with her eye beams. It disintegrated instantly. Starfire deflected the ray with her gauntlets and aimed it towards a robot that was about to attack Beast Boy.

"Thanks Star!" the changeling shouted. "Hey, would this be a bad time for a thank you hug?"

"There is never a bad time!" Before he knew it, the alien princess had flown towards him at breakneck speed and wrapped him in her arms, squeezing all of the oxygen out of his lungs.

_"Ssss-ta-ar!"_

A black shield rose up around them, and two commandos exploded outside of it. Raven beckoned the shield to fall away and rolled her eyes. "Are you two _quite_ done?"

"Don't tell me you were jealous, Rae — _ow!"_ Raven smirked as her red handprint appeared on the side of Beast Boy's face.

Meanwhile, Deathstroke found himself surrounded by Robin, Kole, Gnarrk, and Jericho, all glowering menacingly at him. In the background, the rest of the Titans had already destroyed the last of his robot commandos. He backed into a corner, weighing his options. Fight, or flight?

Robin's bird-a-rang sliced through the air and aimed for his face, and Deathstroke sidestepped it. "Don't even think about trying _anything."_

"It's over, Deathstroke," Red Star added, his charged fists pointing at their enemy's chest.

Jericho stepped forward and walked to his father, while the Titans drew closer and aimed their weapons/fire power at him. He gripped his father's shoulders and forced himself to make eye contact with him.

To Jericho, possessing someone's body felt like stepping into a lucid dream, where he saw everything through their eyes and was conscious of every move he made them do. The only thing he liked about being in someone else's body was the ability to use their voice, though he didn't care for this one in particular.

No matter how hard he tried, though, he couldn't navigate his way through his father's brain. Time for Plan B. "Why_ are you sending the Titans these weird boxes?"_ he interrogated in Deathstroke's voice. Jericho made sure that he kept his arms and legs restrained lest he attack his friends.

"My, my, looks like I overestimated you Titans," Deathstroke strained. "Has Starfire not told you what they are and what they're capable of?"

All eyes landed on Starfire, who pleaded to Robin with her eyes. "Starfire told us everything she could. And anyway, how do you know that she has any idea what they are?"

"A little birdie told me."

"Enough of your games, Deathstroke," Kole spoke up. "Answer Jericho's question."

Deathstroke chuckled. "I'm afraid that if you can't figure it out for yourselves, I can't tell you. And I think that the time for questions has run out. We'll meet again, Titans." Straining greatly, he pulled his right arm towards his chest and pressed his fingers against it, effectively electrocuting himself and blasting Jericho out of him. Gnarrk caught him before his head could hit the floor and he pulled him to his feet. "In due time, Titans. Oh, and Starfire? Here's a little something for your troubles." He tossed her a large, coin-like object, which she caught in her hands. The alien princess gasped in fear and let the coin drop out of her hands. Letting out a cackle, Deathstroke twisted his gauntlets and phased out of the house.

"Since when can he do _that?"_ Argent asked, her eyes wide with shock. "Never figured he was into magic."

"That wasn't magic, or I would have sensed it," Raven said, rubbing her temples.

Cyborg shook his head. "That was all technology… and that was far too advanced even for him."

"That is because he has help," Starfire declared, her gaze on the coin. It was a shiny, chrome-coloured piece with a strange insignia on the front and intricate symbols on the edges. "The technology that Deathstroke used to teleport was developed by the Psions for the Citadel."

Red Star put a hand on Starfire's shoulder. "So he has allied himself with aliens, yes?" The founding Titans nodded.

"Okay, but we still don't know why he kidnapped Jericho in the first place," Kole said. "What happened?"

Jericho turned to Starfire and nodded for her to translate for those in the room who didn't understand sign language. He took a deep breath, bracing himself for the worst. 'This is where I lose my friends,' he thought.

_Deathstroke is my father_, Jericho signed, not looking anyone in the eye.

A long, tense silence fell upon the room. No one moved, no one gasped or made any display of shock and surprise. Jericho wouldn't look up, couldn't bear to see the looks of disappointment on the faces of his friends. Especially not Kole.

"We know," Robin said, stepping forward and putting a hand on Jericho's shoulder. "Well, at least my team knows."

Jericho blinked. _You did? How?_

"I found out when I was looking at some files on Deathstroke. You were listed as one of his children."

_And… you guys aren't mad at me, or scared of me?_

Robin shook his head. "It doesn't matter who your father is, although I wish you could have trusted me enough to tell me."

"You don't exactly have a good history when it comes to all things Slade," Cyborg reasoned, earning himself a glare from his leader.

"Maybe I would have freaked out a little, but like I said, it doesn't matter. You are what you make yourself to be. Not your father. If your family ties dictated who you are, then you would never have joined the Titans in the first place."

"That goes for at least half the Titans network, just so you know," Raven added, with Starfire and others nodding along.

"I am sorry that I failed you as a leader, Jericho," Red Star said quietly. "I should not have let you go to the mail alone, with all the ominous packages that the Titans are receiving."

_You didn't fail anyone, Red Star. You did everything you could and you succeeded in the end._

"Jericho's right, love," Argent chirped. "The team's all back in one piece and nobody's gotten hurt. That's what's important."

Jericho let out a small smile. _I'm sorry, guys. Really. He tried to get me to join him, but I refused. You guys are my real family, not him._

Kole went to his side and hugged him around the shoulders. "We're glad to hear that. Now let's go home."

"Hold on a sec," Argent piped up. "Traffic Light here said that Jericho was _one_ of Deathstroke's children. So who's the other?"

"Me," a voice said from the back of the room. Out of the shadows, a female with a uniform too similar to Slade's for the Titans' comfort stepped out, purposefully striding towards them. "I got your message, Robin. Sorry I'm late, but it looks like you guys handled yourselves pretty well." Her eyes met Jericho's. "Hey, little brother. Long time, no see." She wore a mask over her eyes, though this time, she'd cut a hole over her left eye so that her mask looked less like her father's.

_Hi Rose._

"Please don't tell me this sheila's a Titan," Argent said, pointing her finger at the Ravager in disbelief and eyeing her uniform.

"Not yet," the Ravager replied, not taking any offense. "But I've been training in the NTT program, and I've already made my choice. I'm going to help you guys take down Deathstroke."

Robin stepped forward. "Are you sure? I mean, when we first met you, you were so keen on fulfilling your father's legacy…"

"Well, now I'm fulfilling _mine._ For the first time in my life, I have a choice, and I have a family. Robin contacted me a while ago, warning me that my father might come after me now that he's back. Well he did, and I turned him down." She stared at her hands, balling them into fists. "All my life, I was groomed to be like him after he left and Jericho ran away. I was told to be like him, to act like him, to fight like him. I was never given a choice until I met you guys. You Titans fight for the greater good, not for yourselves. I want to be like that. You all have been so wonderful to me, and I only want to return the favour."

"Are you ready for a T-Comm?" Cyborg asked, smirking. "We're fresh out of those, but I can make you one."

The Ravager giggled and held up her hands. "It's all right, I'll manage. I'm not quite ready to make it official." Her eyes suddenly lit up, then grew serious. "Oh, I've been tracking down Deathstroke's moves for the past few months. He's pretty low-key, so it's hard, but I know for sure that he's working with aliens. The technology that he's been using and the cubes he's leaving at Titans' bases are way too advanced for him. By the way, Robin, you guys have one now."

"What?!" The founding Titans reeled, fear evident in their eyes.

The Ravager nodded gravely. "I saw it on my way here. You can't miss it, it's huge… it's bigger than the rest of them."

"Do you know what they are?" Beast Boy asked.

"Not a clue, but I can find out. I've learned a few things from dear old father."

It was Robin's turn to grin, and he tossed the Ravager a tracking device. "Jericho pinned a tracker on him before he possessed him. We'll leave the tracking to you, while we figure out what those cubes are and how we can get rid of them before something bad happens."

_Thanks guys, for everything,_ Jericho signed.

"Yeah, thank you so much! I won't let you down, I promise," the Ravager chirped.

Red Star put an arm around Jericho and Argent. "Well, it was nice teaming up with you all, and it was especially nice to see our little zvezda again, but I think it is time to go home for dinner. Ravager, would you like to join us?"

"We're having an everything pizza!" Kole sang, with Gnarrk grunting happily by her side.

The Ravager looked at the founding Titans, then back at Titans North. "Sounds wonderful!"

"Wait!" Beast Boy cried, tearing at his hair. "I've got a question: How come Jericho has those powers, and the Ravager doesn't?"

Jericho exchanged a mischievous look with Starfire, who clamped her mouth shut and hid her face in Robin's shoulder to stifle her giggles. The rest of the Titans rolled their eyes at the changeling. Jericho began gesturing wildly in sign language — mostly nonsense — but with no one to translate, Beast Boy keeled over with a confusion-induced headache.

"Dude! My brain hurts! Don't you come with subtitles? Ow! Quit doing that!" Raven blinked innocently and then smirked at Jericho.

"Anyway, we should be headin' home, too," Cyborg said, wrapping his arm around Starfire's shoulders in a brotherly fashion. "Wildfire's probably getting worried."

Starfire giggled and took hold of Robin's hand. "Leave me to deal with my little brother. Shall we return home and celebrate with the Titan special?"

"One half vegetarian/half meat lover and one half Hawaiian/half cheese, all homemade, comin' right up!" Beast Boy joked as he leapt up onto Cyborg's shoulders like a monkey. "And waffles for dessert!"

Raven sighed, but let out the smallest of smiles. "All right, I'm sold."

* * *

When the Teen Titans arrived back in the Main Ops room, Wildfire was pacing in the air in front of the main screen, which had been disconnected when the team climbed back into the T-Car. Surprisingly, Sharp-Sword and The-Last-Thing-You-Will-Ever-See were asleep on the couch, only waking up when they heard Wildfire gasp.

"Sister! You are unhurt!" he cried, excitedly flying over the couch to engulf his big sister in a loving embrace. "I saw the battle! It was — It was — You —" He sighed and raked his fingers through his hair. "You must never do that again. A word, Starfire?"

The rest of the team respectfully flocked to the kitchen to prepare dinner, leaving Starfire and Wildfire alone by the door. Starfire took his hand. "Come, little brother. If you wish to speak in private, the roof is a good place to have a meaningful conversation."

The sun was already dipping below the horizon when Starfire and Wildfire arrived on the roof. The alien princess sighed blissfully as she opened her arms as if to embrace the last rays of sunlight before turning to her brother. "All right, baby brother. Go ahead and say it. I already know what you are going to say."

Wildfire blinked, yet wasn't surprised. "Do not return to Earth after I am crowned Emperor. Stay home on Tamaran, where you belong, where it is safer. We are warrior people and we can handle battle better than the Titans, and our enemies have more honour than that… Deathstroke. This crime-fighting style of life… you cannot go on doing this! You are a princess!"

What Starfire said next surprised him even further. "Baby brother, did I ever tell you the story of how I met the Titans?" Wildfire shook his head. "Well, back then, there were no Titans, just four gifted Earthlings. When I escaped the Gordanians who were taking me back to the Citadel, I flew to the nearest planet for food and drink and shelter, until I had enough energy to return to Tamaran. Unfortunately, I was still cuffed and relatively powerless when I escaped, so when I crash-landed in this city, I turned to anyone for help and mistook their actions as harmful. It was then I decided that I should break the cuffs myself, and that is when I met Robin, who thought that I was destroying the city. He and the others soon figured out that I was merely trying to break free, and Robin unlocked my cuffs out of kindness and pity. To keep the story short, they saved me from the Gordanians because they would not allow them to take me to the Citadel. Even though the Gordanians threatened to destroy the city, they _wanted_ to help me to be… _nice_. So I decided to stay and return the kindness, and I never expected that I would fall in love with the planet. Of course, I never told them that I was a princess until I was called back to Tamaran, or they would have reacted the same way as you." Starfire giggled, then put a comforting hand on her brother's cheek. "I have taken care of myself for years, baby brother. I have survived and thrived all these years, and I owe it to the Titans, to Earth. While you found your home on Tamaran, I have found my home here, and you must understand that."

"I do not know what I will do without you," Wildfire croaked, his eyes welling up. "You are my big sister… the only real family I have left besides Galfore."

Starfire gathered her little brother into her arms and rubbed his back tenderly, rocking him as she did so. "Shh, baby brother. You have proven yourself to be strong and resourceful. Remember how you stopped the blirtiks from devouring Galfore and four other participants? And the speech you gave the very first time you came home? You are a good leader, and you are strong. You will flourish, and so will Tamaran. Besides, I will always be here, in your heart."

"Will you visit me sometimes? And play the practical jokes on Za'zuu?" he sniffled.

"Of course." She held her brother out at arm's length and smiled. "Now, my friends are preparing a feast of the homemade pizzas that I was telling you about! Would you like to partake?"

Wildfire laughed. "As long as there is mustard, I am there!"

Arm in arm, the prince and princess of Tamaran — or more importantly, brother and sister — returned to the Ops Room, only to be greeted by a flying cube of tofu. The Titans and the guards froze, all covered in tomatoes, flour, and tofu bits. Wildfire wiped the tofu off his face and regarded it in his hands. His eyes lit up with bluebolts. Beast Boy gulped. The tofu in Wildfire's hand lit up with blue fire, and the prince whipped it in the direction of the changeling. Everyone in the room burst into laughter.

"Ahh! My pants are on fire!" he screamed, scrambling for the kitchen sink.

Cyborg wiped a tear of mirth from his eyes as he put a hand on Wildfire's shoulder and continued laughing. "Man, we've _got_ to invite you to family dinners more often."

* * *

_Author's Notes:_

_1) Jericho and Kole never really met in the animated universe, but since they were sort of a thing in the mainstream universe, I decided to give them a chance. Besides, how cute would they be together in the cartoon? I ship it._

_2) We never really know much about Wildfire, so I'm improvising. Keep in mind, he's a preteen kid who's being forced to make adult decisions and then pressured to take his rightful place as Grand Ruler of a planet he's just getting to know and love, and in this episode, he's now on an unfamiliar planet with unfamiliar dangers and because of said planet, he may lose the only person he's really close to. I've tried to show elements of his fun-loving, kid side, but stress can really weigh a person down, especially a kid._

_3) In the first episode, I think I confused the Sladebots with his robot commandos. Sorry for the mixup!_

_4) I cheated. I used both Aussie slang and Kiwi slang for Argent's lines. When I was looking up their slang words, I noticed that a lot of Australia slang appeared in the New Zealand slang, so I… yeah…_

_5) The Ravager made her first appearance in the animated universe in the TTG issue #49, so this Ravager is based on that one._

_6) If I add in the summit, this episode would be way too long and make it boring._

_Okay, I think that I need to address this now more than ever. With fanfiction, things aren't always going to be accurate and closely following the mainstream comics. Even the animated Teen Titans barely followed the mainstream DC universe and its storylines. So in spirit of the show, even though I'm using some plot ideas and characters from the original comics, I'm not strictly following them._

_I haven't decided if the next episode will be a filler or if I'll jump straight to the climax (I have both prepared). I'm only going to write thirteen episodes, and then that will be it. I don't think I'll write a season seven because I personally don't have any idea what it would focus on._

_But, I_ am_ going to start a new full-length fanfiction after I finish this one. It's going to be slight AU, and I'll give you guys a teaser in the season six finale. I've also got two companion series of oneshots prepared, which will go up soon._

_Again, I am so so sorry that it took so long! I've been so busy, and school has me crazed. Aside from Season Six, I'm writing short stories, poems, essays, etc.… The next chapter won't take as long, I promise! I hope I didn't disappoint you with this update._

_I'm sorry if you spot any errors, I didn't have time to proofread it a third time. Review kindly, please!_

_Maribel ∞_


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